The Grimm Huntsman
by OmegusXIII
Summary: When Pyrrha stood up to Cinder, she never expected to survive. At her last moments, however, something unlikely saved her: an anthropomorphic new type of Grimm. Desperate to repay her debt, Pyrrha journeys alone to Mistral in order to thank him for saving her. Will she find the Grimm who saved her, or is he just another enemy?
1. End of the Beginning

**A/N: Hello. This is my first RWBY story. BTW, Akame-No-Senshi got me very interested in the series and I feel she should get a mention for this. Anyway, my OC in this story will be voiced by Josh Keaton. If this happens to be non-story content, please let me know so I can fix it. If you don't have any problems, enjoy. :)**

 **Prologue:** End of the Beginning

At the hill outside Vale, a huntsman with a red and white mask that covered only above his left blue eye while covering completely around the red eye among black skin, a dark grey cloak held up by three buckles on the chest, black pants, and a black claw with sharp silver fingernails oversaw the Beacon Tower, recently being occupied by Cinder and a Grimm Dragon. He glared at the scene taking place between her and the dragon as it roared at her before she shushed it softly.

"You belong here now."

The dragon cooed at her words, clearly angering the figure as he scowled at Cinder. For he knew what the dragon was really thinking. Contrary to everyone's beliefs, the Grimm actually weren't all that heartless. The duration of their existence was based on instinct. Nothing more. He of all huntsmen should know. He is one of them.

* * *

 _His name was Raider Serose. From a young age, he was born with a semblance that can mimic the abilities of anyone he comes into eye contact with, thanks in part to his mother, Cynthia. With her and his father, Samuel, they were a wholesome family. When the White Fang attacked on his 15th birthday, however, his parents didn't survive, leaving him alone in this world. He resented them with great vengeance since then. As he wandered alone, he came across several Grimm creatures over the years. Yet, for whatever reason, not one of them attacked him. He knew very well why they wouldn't. His mother always told him that his father was a special case. He previously worked for Salem before he met his mother. She helped him to reform and got married to her. Before then, he was high Commander of the Grimm and attended to their needs. As he grew older, his Grimm side of his genes began to show physically and internally. One of his perfect blue eyes was forever shifted to red before his right arm and leg turned black and he ended up growing a long black tail behind him. Eventually, half of his entire body became Grimm-based while the other half remained uncorrupted. He was aghast at his appearance at first, but as he wandered for 10 years, he'd grown accustomed to it. Despite this, Raider remembered that he always wanted to be a huntsman since he was a kid. He didn't get to graduate from Beacon Academy because of the White Fang, or at least he felt that way. He was planning on going back to graduate. And then this happened..._

* * *

As he glared at Cinder, he then noticed an elevator door shaking before a sword came at her and missed. It then swirled back to its holder as she held a sword and shield. Raider grew surprised to see this and wanted to know who exactly she was. Thanks to his travels, he now possessed an ability to glimpse their lives with but a stare. As he eyed her, he caught glimpses of her past up to now, ranging from her birth, to her childhood, to her training at the academy, to the tournament where she inadvertently dismantled Penny in horror, and to this very moment. From the information he gained, he'd known it was clear who she was.

"She's a huntress... named Pyrrha Nikos."

Once his vision was over, he noticed the Grimm dragon flying away before he telepathically communicated to it.

 _"Hey, you mind giving me a ride to that tower?!"_

The Grimm Dragon noticed Raider before it swerved by him, allowing the huntsman to jump onto its back and ride it as it smashed into the tower, at which point Raider would jump off and land in the tower. However, during the crash, the debris tore away at his right sleeve, revealing his Grimm arm and claw.

"Oh, perfect."

Then, he'd turned to Cinder to see her get whacked by her shield and trapped by the cogs left over from the wreckage, only for Cinder to counter and break Pyrrha's aura in the process as her body had red cracks before they disappeared. As he watched this go on, Raider was in a bind.

 _"I have to go help! But... how am I gonna do that without her seeing me like this?"_

To make matters worse, Pyrrha hurtled her shield at Cinder's aura which turned to ash around it before reconstructing itself and piercing her leg, earning her pained shout as she tried to stand up, but couldn't as she rolled around while breaking the arrow's base in the process until she was bowing down. Raider couldn't take it anymore as Cinder walked around her before holding Pyrrha's face towards her.

"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that wasn't truly yours. But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you can never imagine."

That confirmed what Raider saw when he witnessed a flashback of Amber's death at the hands of Cinder.

 _"So it's true. Pyrrha was meant to be the Fall Maiden. And then that witch showed up."_

Then, Pyrrha glared at Cinder before she spoke.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

Cinder glared back at her before she answered sternly.

"Yes."

As she prepared her arrow and bow out of ash, Raider grew tense.

 _"I guess I don't have a choice."_

The instinct came to him just in time before Cinder launched it at point blank range, only for him to catch it with a copy of Pyrrha's semblance, surprising both parties before the arrow flew into his Grimm hand. Raider calmly walked into the light, his hood over his head before he spoke.

"Hello, Cinder."

Pyrrha was surprised to see him as she grew frightened back a bit before Cinder smiled.

"Well, well, well. Raider. Look who's back from the dead. I'm afraid you've come at a wrong time."

"Actually, I came just in time."

Pyrrha grew worried on where the situation would lead before Raider noticed a girl in a black dress with a red hood, dark colored hair, and silver eyes and immediately knew who she was due to his gazing semblance.

"Ruby."

Ruby staggered back in awe before she asked.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Get Pyrrha out of here and back to Jaune. Cinder is mine."

Raider then splintered Cinder's arrow before he tossed it off of the building. Ruby nodded to him before she got to Pyrrha while Cinder was occupied with Raider. When they got down, a silver-haired girl with blue eyes noticed them as Ruby got to her.

"Weiss, I got her! Let's get out of here!"

"Okay!"

As they left, Pyrrha looked to the stranger and grew intrigued as she slowly lost consciousness.

"Who... are you?"

* * *

At the tower, as Raider turned to her, Cinder glared at him with such venom she could be at the verge of breaking her teeth.

"Do you know why I'm here, Raider?"

"Hard not to. I can tell just by looking at you. You were trying to take all the power of the four maidens for yourself."

Cinder was unimpressed with his detective skills.

"Well, of course I was. You didn't need the gazing semblance for that."

"You should know why _I'm_ here, Cinder. Remember that promise I made you? If you ever showed your face in any huntsman academy, you'll be six feet under."

Cinder only laughed at his threat.

"And what if you did? Even with all the power, you never tried to kill me before because you wanted to be a huntsman. What makes you think you can do it now?"

Raider clenched his Grimm hand before he answered.

"You're right. I did want to be a huntsman. But if you killing more people is where it leads... I'm done with it."

Then, Cinder grew angry before she drew her arrow and fired it, only for Raider to grab it before it struck his head and then chucked it to her left eye swiftly before it pierced it, earning her scream of agony before he got out his sword and mobilized against her, only for Cinder's remaining eye to ignite in flames as she sent out a barrier of fire around her and knocked Raider back. However, as a result, the arrow that impaled her began to get caught in the flames and burn her face, thus cutting the barrier short before she was forced to extract it out of her eye and toss it aside. Then, with her wound coincidentally cauterized, Cinder panted heavily as she held her hand over her damaged face and growled at Raider before he spoke.

"That look suits you, Cinder. Now your outside is exactly the same as you were inside: a monster."

"SHUT UP!"

In her burst of anger, Cinder fired a blast of fire at him, forcing him to summon his sword again, blocking the flames that licked at his Grimm side. However, in doing so, Raider's Grimm side began to burn away, earning his own scream as well before he slammed his sword to the ground, causing a crack to creep near Cinder, to which she dodged before an upright burst of air from where she was previously standing exploded from the crack. With the fire having burned his Grimm arm, Raider panted heavily. Cinder knew she'd hit her mark as she walked toward him and laughed as she walked to him.

"How sad. Even with all that power, your Grimm side has robbed you completely of any aura you once had. You really think you've made a difference? The Fall Maiden is still vulnerable, and sooner or later, I will have her power. After that, you'll end up going to the worst place you can't even begin to think of."

As he looked at Cinder, he remembered how dear she used to be to him, only to remember how she turned her back on him and slaughter innocent people. Not only did the Huntsmen pay the price at her hands, but countless civilians as well. Even... children. Remembering how she destroyed the very lives she swore to protect, Raider only flared his red and blue eyes before they turned silver.

"You... you never deserved it... you turned your back on me... on doing what's right...! So many people have DIED because of you! After what you've done... I... am not going anywhere... But you... YOU'RE GOING TO BURN!"

Then, as he shouted with tears in his eyes over her past betrayal, his back grew angel wings and a bright light overtook the area and petrified the Grimm Dragon, causing it to shriek as his shout echoed.

"What?!"

Then, he moved in toward the blinded Cinder before he slashed her arm off with his claw, earning her angry yell of pain before Raider used the momentum of the slice to turn around and break her larynx with his backfist strike to the neck. When the light had diminished, only the wounded Cinder remained. She staggered back up to her feet only to lose her footing and slip before Cinder looked to the horizon and attempted to call out his name, only to have no success as her voice had gone silent. Not long after realizing this, Cinder began to shed tears, left in a moment of weakness as she began to tense her hand and flared her good eye in an orange flame.

* * *

Back at Vale, Ruby and Weiss made it to Jaune Arc and the others with Pyrrha in her arms.

"Jaune! We got her!"

The stressed and worried Jaune ran over to them in a flash.

"Pyrrha!"

As he took Pyrrha into his arms, he inadvertently jolted her awake.

"J-Jaune...?"

"Don't ever do that to me again! Do you have any idea how scared I was for you?!"

Pyrrha only looked to the distance as she remembered what happened. She was going to die and accepted it. But then, the arrow went into a Grimm hand and the figure that owned the arm walked into the light as Cinder said his name.

"Raider."

Jaune was confused by what she was saying.

"What?"

"Raider. He.. saved me..."

Jaune turned to Ruby before she nodded to confirm what she said. Jaune and Pyrrha looked out toward the distance as he spoke.

"Remind me to thank him if we find him, whoever he is."

* * *

Far away, Raider was having his own wounds as well. Apparently, the blinding light was enough to damage the Grimm side of him, ironically, Cinder's fire of the Fall Maiden even more so, as smoke emanated from his dark half before it showed some of it dissolving.

"Huh. So, apparently, silver light is bad for my Grimm side. Go figure. Either that, or Cinder took advantage of that. Just to be safe, maybe I'll put that one on the Last Resort list."

He then limped away with a groan into the distance on a trail, not certain where it'll take him next. All the same, he felt more ashamed of the fact that he didn't deliver on his word. How he's going to compensate for this, he had no clue. One thing he did know was that this pattern will continue on till he fulfills it or the end of time. Whichever comes first, whatever it takes...


	2. The Next Step

**A/N: There's chapter two. Now there's a couple of new characters in this one. The first is known as Dexus, an unorthodox scientist who became interested in Grimm hybrid experiments ever since Raider was born. Despite this, he also made sure that Cinder Fall got her fair share of his attention, becoming like a second father to him, so he'll be speaking out in defense for her a lot, whether Cinder likes it or not. He will be voiced by Dameon Clarke. There's one more boy in the story, though his name won't officially be revealed in the story, so I'll take care of that ahead of time. His name is Logan Cross, a student in one of Remnants academies of becoming a huntsman. I still haven't worked out the backstory just yet, but I'll let you know when I've come up with it someway or another. Anyway, I think Jeremy Shada will portray him best. If you have any ideas for his backstory or the story in general, though, be sure to sound off in the reviews. Enjoy. :)**

 **Chapter 1:** The Next Step

Months later, at Evernight Castle, a Grimm emerged from one of its many dark pools before it walked toward a dark horizon along with countless others like it as Emerald and Mercury watched in horror before Cinder snapped her fingers, motioning them to be by her side. When they got near her, Watts spoke to her crudely.

"Yes, yes, please keep your... posse in check."

Mercury clenched his fist before he tried to retaliate, only for Emerald to stop him. All the while, Watts seemed proud of the fact that Cinder hadn't spoken a word since Beacon.

"You hear that? Silence. I've half the mind to thank the hybrid that bested you."

Then, a figure with spiky black hair, a purple eye, and a scar over his left blurred eye in black armor with red shoulder pads and a grey cape spoke next.

"I'd hold off on that, Watts. _You're_ still talking."

Tyrian gave his two cents on what Cinder should do.

"If I were you, I'd hunt him down... find him, and... Well... he took _your_ eye, didn't he?"

Then, the figure glared at Tyrian as the latter cackled.

"No, Tyrian. Taking one eye for another isn't enough. After her senseless loss, she screamed his name indefinitely until her voice wore out, from what Emerald told us she said. That's proof of commitment... and obsession. If Cinder is to be satisfied, she has to hit him where it really hurts."

As Cinder looked to the figure as if humbled, Watts didn't find him talking about it necessary

"Pathetic. Why did you even—"

Before Watts could finish, the doors opened to reveal Salem walking into the room as they stood up while Salem stood in front of the candles before she spoke to him.

"Watts. Do you find such malignancy necessary?"

Then, Salem waved them down, giving them permission to sit down.

"I apologize, ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure."

The figure snapped back at him.

"Then why do you even bother?"

He then turned to Salem.

"Do you want to tell him, your highness, or should I?"

"By all means, Dexus. Proceed."

"In spite of being rudely interrupted, she's become the Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon Tower, and— on this most memorable occasion— exterminated Ozpin. So, I ask you again. What makes you think her a failure?"

Watts knew the detail of how the hybrid bested her.

"Well... the hybrid with the silver eyes."

That caught Dexus off guard.

"Silver eyes?"

Hazel agreed with him.

"Yes... We've dealt with this kind before..."

Dexus was reeling in denial from hearing this.

"Impossible! He's only had one blue and one red. How can that be possible?"

Hazel was focused on another matter.

"The more pressing question is, 'how is it a novice was able to best one of us?'"

"My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless."

Dexus knew the answer.

"Because he was no novice. That boy was a Grimm hybrid, as you should know. Just like his father, he commands the beasts. How do you think he got to Beacon in the first place, walking?"

Salem knew another answer to that.

"There's that. But it is BECAUSE of the Maiden's power. Make no mistake, Cinder. You hold the key to our victory. But your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness, which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment."

Cinder didn't seem particularly happy with that as she made a scowl before Dexus noticed it.

Then, Salem turned to Watts.

"Doctor Watts. You are to take Cinder's place and meet with our informant in Mistral."

Watts nodded to her in compliance.

"Very good."

"Tyrian, I want you to continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden."

"Gladly."

"And Hazel... I'm sending you to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has arranged the meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same."

"As you wish."

Cinder then held her hand up, to which Emerald noticed.

"Oh!"

She then spoke softly to Emerald before Salem asked her.

"Speak, child."

"She wants to know... What about the hybrid?"

Watts scoffed at her words.

"What about him? Seems to me like this is Cinder's problem, not ours."

Dexus countered Watts candid observation.

"Do you really believe that, Watts? The boy wasn't able to completely stop Cinder's movements still, just paralyze her with blindness. Odds are, it's bound to have taken a grave toll on the Grimm side of him as a side effect. If he masters this ability, he can very well be a bigger threat than the silver-eyed warriors ever were in the past. That's a risk I'm not willing to take."

Salem turned to the figure who'd repeatedly spoken out against Watts in defense of Cinder.

"If that's how you feel... Dexus. Find the boy who did this to Cinder."

"Understood. And I suppose you want him alive?"

"But of course. He is family after all. Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen, and Haven will be next."

The group then stood up from their chairs before Tyrian turned to Dexus.

"Eye for an eye..."

Dexus smiled at the quip that actually made him smile for the first time in a long time.

"Now, where have I heard that before?"

* * *

Meanwhile, as the sun rose up, Raider, who was now wearing a grey cape with his cloak, was still walking in the road, reflecting on witnessing the memory where Ozpin disappeared after fighting Cinder.

 _"Where did you really go, Ozpin? You couldn't have died. Could you?"_

Raider was beginning to consider the possibility before pulling his sleeve down, seeing his exposed Grimm arm.

After sighing at it, he pulled the sleeve back up.

"I'm never gonna get used to this."

Then, he felt a familiar presence near him before he looked over, only to see a boy working the field.

 _"That's weird. I felt his aura a little while ago. Maybe I'm imaging things._ _But still..."_

Raider felt the need to talk with him, at least before walking to him.

"Hey."

The boy looked over to see Raider coming over and grew a bit surprised, yet curious. In his eyes, he saw a figure wearing a strange mask over him. He should feel scared, but for some bizarre reason, he wasn't.

"Uh, hello. Who are you?"

"Me? My name is Raider Serose. I'm a huntsman. And you?"

"I'm Oscar. Oscar Pine. I'm a farmhand."

The farm boy held his hand toward Raider who gladly shook it with his left hand. He began to wonder if he was alone, seeing as he was he only one awake at the moment.

"Are you the only one here?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I live with my aunt."

"Hmm."

Then, Raider tried hard to look into his life, but for whatever reason... he can't.

 _"That's so strange. I'm looking at him right now, but I'm not getting anything..."_

Oscar was getting a bit cautious because of his stare.

"Are you okay?"

At this point, Raider caught himself before shaking his head.

"Sorry. I'm just... having a bit of a rough patch, lately. Do you think you can answer me a couple of questions?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Do you know someone named Ozpin?"

Oscar grew confused at the name before he shook his head.

"No. Sorry, but I don't think I know anyone named that." Raider only pondered to himself before standing up.

"Well... if you find him, can you tell him Raider's looking for him?"

"Yeah. I'll let him know when I see him."

"Okay. Good to know. Thank you."

Then, Raider looked to the sun as did Oscar.

"And one more thing. Let's say you're... in a position where someone you love, just as an example, was in danger, what would you do?" Oscar felt it was obvious.

"Well, I'd save them, of course!"

"Yeah, but say someone really nasty was holding them captive, and he's more powerful than you. Would you still try then?"

Oscar felt a little nervous to answer before reaffirming his answer.

"I will. Because if I don't, who would?"

Raider smiled at Oscar's statement before he spoke to him.

"I can tell you like to work hard."

"Yeah. I really do."

"Well, don't work too hard, now. A good rest goes a long way. I should know."

"You can stay and rest up for a while if you'd like."

Raider smiled at his kindness before he politely declined.

"Thanks, but I'm not that tired just yet. I'm on my own adventure."

"And what's that?"

"Well... I'm just looking for something important that I lost."

Then, Raider walked away back into the road as Oscar felt the need to wish him luck before he waved to him.

"Well, I hope you have good luck finding it!"

Raider turned to Oscar before waving back.

"Thank you!"

As he continued onward, Raider grew curiouser and curiouser about the boy.

" _I don't get this. I've been able to look into anyone's life before. Why didn't it work back then? And... why did I sense Ozpin's aura inside him of all people?"_

Then, he remembered how he was told of not only the tale of the four maidens, but also of the identity of the old man who took the four of them in. That's when it hit him. Ozpin was reincarnated into Oscar. He smiled at this revelation before looking to the sky.

"Ozpin, you sly fox."

* * *

After Beacon fell, things changed swiftly for both team RWBY and team JNPR. Weiss had to go back to her family home while Yang went back to hers. As for Blake, she thought it best to distance herself from her friends to avoid them getting hurt. Ruby, however, decided to take Pyrrha's place in team JNPR, turning it into team RNJR or JNRR as Nora preferred. Ruby covered for Pyrrha because she was desperate to look for the huntsman who saved her. Initially, Jaune wanted to come with, but she needed him to stay with the team to make sure they'll be fine. He persisted in his insistence until Pyrrha handed Jaune his phone and reminded him that he can check on her as she goes on her journey. That day, Jaune made Pyrrha swear she wouldn't do anything reckless like with Cinder, to which she agreed to in order to get him to stop worrying. Now, months later, Nora and Ren were stuck on an issue.

"I'm just saying, there's more members of JNPR in this team than RWBY. It just makes sense to go with _that_ one."

"But 'junior' isn't a color."

"Ugh! How can I be more clear?"

Comically, Nora made JNRR appear next to her.

"One... two... three! That's more than one."

"But we're helping Ruby with her objective."

Then, Ren took his turn to comically make RNJR appear.

"Wouldn't that make her the leader?"

Jaune, having heard the argument, wanted them to quiet it down.

"Guys. We need to focus. Also, JNRR is way cooler."

Nora felt her point was made clear.

"Exactly!"

Ren tried to counter, but couldn't figure out how as he sighed in defeat before a rumbling shook the ground. Jaune knew it meant one thing.

"It's here."

To prove this, Ruby appeared on a red mist before turning back to normal and shooting at a giant Geist that broke the trees away before it fell down with her as she landed in several branches.

"Bad! Landing! Strategy!"

Then, her clumsy descent was halted as she finally stuck a landing before using her semblance to avoid being swatted away by the giant Geist as the rest of the team looked on. However, Jaune didn't want to sit and do nothing.

"Let's get that thing off her!"

Jaune ran by the trees as Ren leaped on the base of the trees to land in a branch. Nora looked up to him before she shouted.

"Don't forget meee!"

She got her Magnhild out and pointed it at the ground before it fired pink smoke, launching her to the air before she landed on a branch next to Ren, who relayed the plan to her.

"We need to draw its attention away from Ruby."

Then, Ruby zoomed past the two before resuming her distraction.

"Could use some help!"

To assist with this, Nora aimed her Magnhild at the giant Geist before launching her pink dust grenades at the creature while Ren leaped from tree to tree as it swiped away until there was an opening and he got onto its arm. Then, he leaped into the air and swirled before striking his StormFlower blades on it, only for it to have no effect as Jaune tried to suggest a different strategy as Ren landed by him.

"We gotta get in closer!"

"My blades don't hurt him!"

To make matters worse, the Geist seemed to have figured out their strategy as Nora didn't like it one bit.

"Crap."

Ruby knew she had to think of something before it came to her.

"How about this?!"

For good measure, she added a voltage upgrade to her Crescent Rose before using her semblance to get in front of it and shooting at its arm, electrifying it, but to no avail as it swung them farther into the forest. As they flew away, Ren and Nora landed, holding their shoulders in support as Ruby used her scythe to stop herself while Jaune ended up colliding with a rock and being hit in his sensitive area before falling to the grass.

"You'll be fine without a weapon... You're the strategist..."

Nora, for one, was getting sick and tired of it pretty quickly.

"That's it!"

As she ran toward the geist, she changed the form of her Magnhild into that of a hammer before jumping towards it and smashing its rocky arm, only for it to toss rocks at Nora before Ruby sliced one. Meanwhile, Jaune got up and tried to loosen his muscles before he dodged a rock and a few others that joined in.

"Hey! Be careful—"

Before he could finish, a rock hit him in the face, knocking him to a tree. As Jaune recovered from the "assault", Nora, Ren, and Ruby distracted it before Jaune noticed the Geist having a red mark on its arm socket where the rocky arm went missing before it produced a black skeleton arm with claws. "Uh-oh..." Then, the arm plunged itself into a tree before it took the place of a missing , rocky one as it swung near him.

"His arm is a tree. His arm is a tree!"

Ruby had just the cartridge to take care of it.

"Big mistake!"

Ruby then turned her scythe into a sword before adding a different cartridge in and firing a red blast at the arm, to which Jaune smiled until he noticed the tree remaining in a fiery state.

"Big mistake!"

He ran again as the fiery arm swung near him until he fell. Right when he was about to pound him, one of Ren's blades whacked him to the ground before he could. Then, he tried to consider all of its weak points.

"Okay, how do we do this?"

Ren spoke up to him before Nora and Ruby as they switched between them and Jaune.

"His body is too thick to break through."

"It doesn't care about its body."

"Plus, it can keep adding new limbs!"

"But it's protecting his face..."

"We can't break it!"

This have Jaune an idea.

"If we knocked all of its limbs off at once then went for the... Guys! I got it! We hit it... harder!"

Ren grew confused at his strategy.

"Is that it?"

"No, seriously! It's trying to keep us from its face! If we kill the limbs, we'll have a shot to kill the whole thing!"

Ruby was all in for the idea.

"Alright. Come on, team! Let's do this!"

"Yeah!"

"Right!"

Jaune had the positions figured out in seconds after they agreed.

"Ren, left! Ruby, right! Nora... ready to try out the new upgrade?"

Nora nodded to him before she took off.

"Right, then I will-"

As Jaune tried to finish, he ended up caught in the crossfire as he almost got squashed by its leg.

Then, Ruby moved in to attack its right arm before Ren shot at it, only for them both of them to be forced back as Nora charged it with pink lightning while Jaune distracted it.

"Uh... Hey! Over here!"

As it noticed, he rolled away from its fiery arm before Ren jumped in a rocky one and shot at the other arm. Ruby moved in to one arm next, slashing at it before firing at it, blocking it before she flew upwards.

With that, she pushed a button on her scythe as Nora's hammer was fully charged.

"Ready!"

As Ruby got knocked back, she turned to Jaune, who shouted to her.

"Use everything you've got!"

Ruby then darted to Nora with her semblance before the two of them turned into a swirl of pink and red, slashing at the arm while hitting its face, knocking it squarely off of the colossal Geist before a rock just landed. Out of it came a Geist in its true state. It's appearance was that of a ghost with pointed bony pads on the shoulders, it's ribcage exposed, and long claws. As it retreated, Ruby pointed her Crescent Rose at it before shooting a small white bullet and destroying it, causing a few birds to fly away before Jaune got to the others.

"Another victory for team JNRR!"

Then, he realized how silly the name would make them look.

"Alright, y'know, okay... Ren, I think you're onto something. It... It... it's just not sounding great anymore. It's a good thing Pyrrha didn't know about that."

* * *

Later, the newly christened Team RNJR reported back to the chief of the village, who gladly shook Ruby's hand.

"We truly can't thank you enough."

"Just doing our job, sir!"

"That Geist has been plaguing our village for weeks. We were beginning to wonder if we'd have to relocate."

"Well, we are in our way to Mistral... you could always come along with us if you don't feel safe!"

The village chuckled at Ruby's suggestion.

"Heh... I take it you're not from these parts. Anima is a large continent... I'm afraid our people would never survive the long trek to Mistral. It may be safer in the Kingdoms, but we prefer our way of life. I just wish we could pay you more."

Ren, however, didn't feel it was necessary.

"Our previous arrangement is more than sufficient."

* * *

At the blacksmith's shop, the Faunus blacksmith set down a new armor for Jaune.

"There you go, son! It's gonna be heavier than you're used to, but you'll thank me the next time you go up against a set of claws!"

Jaune was overcome with gratefulness at this.

"Wow... Uh... I don't know what to say." Don't gotta say anything! Just put it on! I'll go get the rest."

As he left for a moment, Nora turned to him.

"So... What are you waiting for?"

"Oh! Uh... right!"

He then set his old one down before he spoke again.

"Guess I was gonna grow out of it eventually..."

Ren saw this as a good thing to be trying on new armor.

"A sign of progress."

"Progress."

Then, as he turned, Ruby gasped before she started snickering at something on his shirt: a bunny with long ears.

"Whuh... What is it?"

"What is _that_?!"

"What, my hoodie? I've always had this!"

Ruby continued to snicker at it before she shouted a certain detail.

"IT'S GOT A CUTE LITTLE BUNNY ON IT!"

Then, she started laughing her head off at it as Jaune tried to explain.

"It's Pumpkin Pete! Y'know from the cereal?"

"What did you do?! Send in a box top for a prize?!"

"Yeah! Fifty!"

That made Ruby's laugh more high in volume as she bursted in laughter before she started to faint from her excessive mirth. At that moment, Ren spoke to Jaune.

"Well... I suppose we don't have to grow out of everything."

Then, Ruby woke back up and started laughing again, more lightly this time before the blacksmith returned.

"Can't have a huntsman without his weapon! Made all the modifications you asked for."

Then, the weapon opened up to reveal a shield.

"That was some fine metal you brought me. Accents the white nicely. Where'd you get it from?"

Jaune took a look at the shield before he remembered what Pyrrha gave him before he spoke his answer.

"From a friend. By the way, did she get here? Her name was Pyrrha."

The blacksmith remembered that name, fortunately and answered him.

"Actually, she did. She talked a lot about you."

"Well, what did she say?"

"A lot of things. But, the most important was that she told me was to let you know she's doing just fine."

Jaune smiled before he nodded.

"Good to know."

* * *

Later, the group waited before Jaune was revealed to be in his new armor from Pyrrha. He then removed his sword from his scabbard and activated his shield before the blacksmith gave a good opinion about him.

"He cleans up alright, don't ya think?"

Ren could agree with him while Nora gave her two cents.

"He certainly does."

"I still think a grenade launcher would've really brought the look together."

Ruby grew even more pumped up than ever.

"Nothing's gonna stop Team RNJR now!"

Nora corrected unnecessarily before Ren countered her.

"Team JNRR!"

"Still not a color."

Jaune wanted to put the argument to rest.

"It doesn't matter what were called. As long as we're together."

The blacksmith checked with them about their plans, considering their service.

"You kids sure you won't stick around? You've been real good to this town."

"Sorry, but we've got another mission."

The blacksmith has his fair share of concerns about what it could be about.

"Tell me. Does it have anything to do with a sort of Grimm Huntsman?"

Nora answered his query cheerfully while Ren backed it up.

"Nope! It's to make it to Haven Academy, no matter what!"

"We've heard the next village has a working airship."

The blacksmith wasn't quite certain if there was such a village nearby.

"Mmm... no way to know for sure... Scroll signals were bad enough out here when Beacon Tower was still up. Haven't heard from Shion village in a while."

Ruby had a simple fix for that problem.

"Well... there's only one way to find out!"

The blacksmith watched as they took off from the village before going back to the daily grind. As he did, Jaune and Nora brought up an issue to be concerned about: scheduled supply maintenance.

"Food!"

"Check!"

"Water?"

"Check!"

"How 'bout ammo?"

"Locked and loaded! Thank you, Schnee Dust Company!"

"Got the map?"

"Uh... Ren's got it!"

Ren, However, disproved her words.

"No, I don't! You have it."

"Wait... what?"

That gave Jaune cause for concern.

"Guys, please tell me you're joking."

Nora nervously laughed before Jaune repeated himself.

"Guys! Guys? Guys..."

"Nope."

Jaune only sighed in frustration from hearing this.

"I just hope Pyrrha's having better luck than we are."

* * *

Far away at the mountain trails, Pyrrha, who now wore a brown cape over her outfit and her head, found a nearby restaurant and walked into it to find a large variety of customers looking at her suspiciously and cautiously when she walked in. The last time they saw her, she inadvertently dismantled Penny, so their opinion of her drastically changed for the worst. Though, not even that seemed to faze her as she was stuck on finding the Grimm Huntsman that rumors spread about. As she moved forward to the brown-skinned bartender, she didn't look at anyone, just what was in front of her before she sat down and got out three gold coins.

"I'll just take some water to go, please."

The bartender allowed the request before she walked over to the fountain and got a bottle of water.

"Alright, then. If that's what you want."

As she filled it up, she didn't notice that a brown-haired young man with a dark blue shirt, a black pack, a bow, and a ton of arrows looked to her and recognized her.

"No way. Is that really her...?"

Then, the bartender noticed it, too as she noticed her face under that hood.

"Oh. Listen, honey, I heard what happened at the tournament a few months back."

"I didn't mean to do that, you know. I just... reacted."

"I believe you. I know you didn't mean to do that. You're a good person. You've never done anything like that before."

Pyrrha didn't feel that way.

"That's what I'm worried about."

Then, she took the water before she left.

"Thank you for your service."

As Pyrrha left, the boy grew a bit sorry for her.

* * *

Farther away in the forest, Raider was still wandering around when he heard growling from far away. Once he did, he confirmed it was one of his before he spoke.

"It's okay, Mount. You can come out."

Then, the Grimm beast named Mount emerged from the bushes before it knelt down to him.

"What have you gotten for me?"

He placed his hand upon the Grimm's head before receiving visions of people being captured and put to sleep before being transported far offshore towards... Menagerie. Raider took his hand off in worry before he asked it to confirm.

"All of those villagers of Shion... captured? And offshore?"

Mount nodded solemnly as it growled softly before he spoke to it.

"Thanks for your help. Just keep your distance from anyone for now."

As the Grimm walked away, he knew something was up.

"Why would someone kidnap an entire village and transport them offshore? I have to know what's going on, and fast before it's too late."

* * *

At Weiss's Mansion Home, she watched out the window as multiple helicopters appeared before she heard knocking on the door.

"Yes?"

As an answer, a butler with a slightly bald head with hair in the side walked to her and bowed down to her before answering her.

"Pardon the interruption, Ms. Schnee, but your father wishes to speak to you."

Weiss sighed before she responded.

"Thank you, Klein."

Then, she reluctantly got up off of her chair before walking away from her chair and out of her room before the door closed.


	3. Remembrance

**A/N: There comes a second chapter. Now, believe it or not, the Grimm that Raider communicated with can actually speak, and his voice actor is Fred Tatasciore himself. I admire the guy's many different takes, so I thought he'd be fitting. I had also gotten to thinking about Logan's backstory, too. Logan didn't start off as a promising student of one of Remnant's many academies. In fact, he was widowed along with his mother. This happened when his father, Mark Cross, found evidence of Faunus slavery in the Schnee Dust Company. Before he could set out to prove it, there was a cave-in that occurred in one of the mines. Before a rock could land on one of them, Mark shoved her away before being crushed himself. Moments later, the body was found and was ordered to be cremated while the evidence was soon captured by Jacques who hid it away to preserve the company. To cover his tracks, he himself held a funeral to show he cared about the people. His mother always called him a hero for saving the Faunus and doing what's right. As a matter of fact, that was the deciding factor for Logan to become a Huntsman and do what was right just like he did. Along with that, he has his own personal mission: to reclaim said evidence and bring Jacque's whole company down. But, as he travels with his new company, he'll be caught in a bind, but that is a tale for another time. Enjoy. :)**

 **Chapter 2:** "Remembrance"

At her mansion, Weiss walked through many rooms from the dining room to a room featuring a two-headed snake with the bottom of it being another head and attacking each other. Then she walked by the piano room before hearing her brother, Whitley's voice.

"Good afternoon, sister. A pleasure to see you out of your room for a change."

Weiss wasn't interested in what he had to say, but tried to be polite about it.

"Hello, Whitley. You're in a cheery mood, today."

"Klein made crêpes for breakfast."

Weiss decided at that point to find out why he wouldn't leave her alone as she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?"

"I heard father shouting with someone in his study earlier."

Given her difficult childhood, Weiss had a feeling she knew who it was.

"Mother?"

"No, she's already drinking in the garden. I think it was a man."

Weiss suddenly grew interested in it as she looked to Whitley.

"I just wanted to warn you. I heard he had asked to speak with you."

Weiss began to get a hint of decency and concern from her brother before she responded.

"I'll be fine."

"I know you will. You're strong, like Winter!"

Weiss felt it weird for him to say so.

"You never liked Winter."

"True. But you can't deny her resolve."

As he began to show more decency, Weiss felt it to be a little more than different from the Whitley she grew up with.

"You... seem different."

"And you've been gone. I'll have you know I didn't stop growing while you were away at Beacon."

Weiss knew what kind of growth he's talking about. He wasn't talking about his height; he's talking about his character. At least that's what he'd have her believe.

"Anyway, good luck with Father."

As he left, Weiss heard muffled shouting before she smiled.

"Thank you."

Then, she walked right over to the door, where her Father was waiting.

* * *

Meanwhile, Pyrrha walked alone with a bottle of water as she wandered in the forest, unaware of the boy following her as he hid behind from one tree to the next. He'd been following her for almost two hours now, so he was beginning to wonder where she's going and why she wouldn't take a break. Fortunately, she stopped by a log before Pyrrha day down and drank from her bottle before she checked back on her phone, seeing a message from Jaune. She instinctively went onto it before a video opened up.

"Hey, Pyrrha. Today, we've had... a really crazy one. First, we found out a Geist was terrorizing a village for weeks, but we took care of it, at the expense of a few bones of mine. Oh, and we finally got the armor forged."

Jaune then stepped back before he flaunted it.

"Check this out."

He drew his sword from his scabbard before opening up the shield.

"Really takes the cake, huh?"

Pyrrha smiled at him in the armor she'd given him.

"I gotta say you really get me. But... I'm really sorry that I didn't know how you felt about me. About us. I just... I wish I could be there for you now. I really miss you. We all do. Good luck out there."

Then, the video was finished before Pyrrha smiled and looked to the sky.

"Thanks, Jaune. It means a lot."

Then, she heard bushes rustling before she got her sword and shield out.

"Who's there? Come out!"

The boy grew worried and just stayed in a bush before Pyrrha tossed her shield at a branch from where the rustling came from, knocking it off and earning a yelp from the boy before he and the branch landed on the ground. After getting her shield back via semblance, Pyrrha found a teenage boy on a branch.

"Why are you following me?"

The boy looked up at her and was too dazed by her beauty before he pulled himself together and tried to act cool.

"Hello."

Pyrrha wasn't interested as she rolled her eyes before repeating herself.

"I'll ask again. Why are you following me?"

The boy stood up straight before he answered.

"Well, I was just drawn to how beautiful you were."

Pyrrha knew he was trying to flirt with him, and just walked away.

"Like I need your validation. Besides, I already have a boyfriend."

That crushed his dreams pretty quickly.

"You do?!"

"Yes. So you can quit following me."

Then, he snapped out of his panic before finally deciding to be honest to her, no flirting involved.

"Actually... I can't."

Pyrrha was getting really annoyed with him.

"And why not?"

"Well... I know what happened back at the tournament. And..."

Pyrrha has had enough of people saying that over and over. She knows what she did and believed it wasn't on accident.

"And what? You wanted to say that you feel sorry for me? Is that it?"

"Well, that, but mostly... I wanted to go with you."

Pyrrha received that offer many times, and each time, she rejected it. But due to the amount of times she's heard this, Pyrrha was tired of keeping the pent-up negativity in check.

"Why would you? Don't you have any idea what I could do to you? People keep saying it's not my fault, but it is! I deliberately killed a fellow student of Beacon Academy! After what I've been through, what makes you think you can help me?!"

"I don't know. But all I know is... you shouldn't have to be alone. Not that I'm asking you out or anything. I just... I'm tired of seeing you go it alone."

Pyrrha thought the solution was already obvious.

"Then just don't look. That's what you all should've done from the beginning."

Then, Pyrrha walked away from the boy as he stood watching her walk away, both of them unaware of a Grimm looking at Pyrrha before growling her name.

"Pyrrha..."

* * *

Far away, Team RNJR was walking to the next village as Ruby held a map.

"So, the next town is... Uh-huh! Uh-huh... We're lost."

Jaune knew she wasn't quite correct.

"We're not lost. The next town is Shion. My family used to visit it all the time."

"Oh, yeah. Don't you have, like, four sisters?"

"Uh, seven."

Ruby giggled at the number of girls in his side of the family before Nora thought it made sense why he had that hoodie.

"Y'know, that actually explains a lot."

"Wait, what do you mean—"

Before Jaune could start an argument, Ruby spoke up to start a conversation with him.

"So, what did you guys do there?"

"Oh! All sorts of stuff! Like over here is a great hiking trail, and over here is where we went camping all the time! I got my own tent because I was special. Also, so my sisters would stop braiding my hair."

"Didn't like the look?"

"Yeah, they just kept doing pigtails, but personally, I think I'm more of a 'Warrior's Wolf Tail' kind of guy."

"That's just s ponytail."

"I stand by what I said."

Then, when they got to the village, they noticed it was desolate and with clouds hovering above them as Nora and Ren noticed it first.

"Uh, guys?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

Ruby and Jaune looked up to see the whole village in ruins and with multiple buildings destroyed before they looked around, but couldn't find one soul anywhere that is alive or otherwise. Jaune has an idea on what happened.

"Maybe they had to evacuate?"

Ruby wasn't going to give up, though.

"There could be survivors."

She was proven correct as Ren noticed that a lone soldier was wounded and set by a piece of debris.

"Over here!"

Instinctively, he ran over to him before the others did. Ruby figured out who he was at first glance.

"A Huntsman!"

Jaune asked the wounded warrior of what occurred.

"What happened?"

"The whole village. They took the people away."

"Who captured all those people?"

The Huntsman coughed before he answered.

"His name... was Dexus."

Ren tensed upon hearing his name.

"Then, with all the panic..."

He coughed before Ren made a guess as to who else did the damage, figuring Dexus had something to do with it.

"Grimm."

"No... Bandits. The whole tribe. I tried to stop them, but..."

He then coughed as Ren stood up while Ruby tried to think of a way to help.

"Alright, we can get him to the next village and try to find a doctor there."

Jaune agreed to it while Nora found the odds unsettling.

"Yeah, Ren and I can take turns carrying him."

"I don't know if he'll make it."

"He will. He has to."

"If we get going now, his chances will be better. I can run ahead and look for help!"

Ren, however, didn't find it useful.

"Guys..."

It was too late.

The Huntsman has perished not long after he'd finished his explanation.

Nora wanted to do something to honor him.

"Should we... bury him?"

Ren, having gone through the kind of chaos wreaked at his village before, never wanted to go through that again as he stomped away.

"We should go. It's not safe here."

Nora looked to him in worry.

"Ren..."

She then joined him as Jaune put his hand over his face while Ruby tried to comfort him.

"It'll be okay."

He sighed before he responded to her.

"I'm just tired of losing everything."

As they walked away, Ren and Nora found a horse-shoe shaped footprint with a little dot under it. Even more concerning was the sigil within, for it seemed to resembled Salem herself. Along with it was a message underneath the footprint that said, "Don't think I've forgotten about you." Nora looked to Ren in worry before they walked away from Shion in ruins.

* * *

Back at the manor, Jacques Schnee, father to Weiss Schnee, was arguing with Ironwood, frustrated on his latest policy, which banned any Dust trade. That was the last straw for him.

"I'm not talking about the good of my company, I'm talking about the good of Atlas! Our entire kingdom!"

"That is a load of garbage and you know it."

"I beg your pardon?!"

"Jacques, will you please just hear me out?"

Jacques only slammed his glass to the table in response.

"You are a trusted friend and ally to this family, James. But what you're suggesting is absurd."

"You are blowing it out of proportion."

"The council will never agree to it!"

"You forget, I hold two seats on the council."

"Your Dust embargo has already cost me millions. I can promise you, I have not forgotten!"

"So, this _is_ about you?"

"THIS IS ABOUT THE WHITE FANG'S DELIBERATE ACT AGAINST MY FAMILY! It's bad enough they've slaughtered my board members and allies, but now that Beacon fell, they've robbed us of any chance of getting profit!"

Then, the door closed, to Weiss's surprise before the two men turned to her.

"Miss Schnee. My apologies, I should have been gone by now."

"It-It's okay."

Ironwood turned back to Jacques before he spoke.

"We'll continue this at another time."

"Indeed. Klein can show you out."

"Hmph, don't worry. I know the way."

Then, Ironwood walked away to the door as Jacques clenched his hand.

"Until next time, Jacques."

Then, he turned to Weiss next.

"Please know, you'll always have a home at Atlas Academy, Miss Schnee. We'll be back in session before you know it."

As he left, Jacques felt Weiss's simple act to be insulting.

"Did you forget your manners while you were away?"

Weiss retaliated mentally.

 _"No. Did you?"_

Then, she calmed her temper before answering.

"No, Father. I'm sorry."

He engaged in a conversation with her as Jacques walked up the small steps back into his chair.

"Can you believe there are still people in the world that blame Atlas for what happened to Beacon? To Vale?"

Weiss found it understandable, although she felt they weren't too far off the mark.

"Well, they weren't there."

"It's a wonder Ironwood wasn't stripped of his rank! I suppose the council trusts him. For better or worse."

"I trust him."

Jacques didn't find it uplifting before he sighed and explained his side of he story.

"Thanks to him, Atlas is forbidden from exporting Dust to other kingdoms! 'A precautionary measure', as he calls it, Until were certain no one is going to declare war. How anyone could possibly find that to be sound logic is beyond me."

Weiss, however, knew it'd made sense. If she were in his place, she'd put the people first rather than profits, like her soulless father.

"Which is why the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert in the coming weeks. We need to show the people of Remnant that we are on their side. That we are all victims of the Fall of Beacon."

Weiss found it uncharacteristic, but in the case of the people's morale, that was one plan of his that she's grateful for.

"That's... wonderful news!"

"I know. And I think it would make a lot of people happy if you performed at the event."

This caught Weiss off guard to be put in this position.

"Excuse me?"

"Many forget that you were there. My own daughter—a Schnee—on the grounds defending another kingdom! We need to remind them. And we need to show them that the Schnee family is just as strong as ever."

Weiss tried to figure him out to determine if its for her benefit or the company's.

"Are you asking me if I'd like to sing, or telling me?"

"I think it would make a lot of people happy."

That have her the answer. Of course he's doing it for the company's benefits. All he cared about was its image. That was enough to get her instincts going before she slapped him in the face swiftly, catching both parties off-guard, Weiss most of all. She wanted to slap him, of course, but she wasn't planning on doing so immediately.

"Oh! Sorry, Father! I didn't mean to—"

Jacques just waved his hand in the air before he got up.

"Now, now. Normally, that would be unacceptable, but... seeing as this is your first major offense... I forgive you."

At this point, angry as she was, Weiss didn't have any other choice but to accept in order to maintain her heiress status.

"I'll start practicing."

"That's my girl."

* * *

Outside the study, Weiss walked out and gently closed the door before smiling. The only good thing that came out of this, as far as she's concerned, was getting a good slap on him. However, that was merely an act of instinct. Another slip-up like that, and her position would be taken away. Just as she thought of this, Weiss heard Klein's voice.

"Hot coffee, Miss Schnee? I always find he keeps his study dreadfully cold."

Weiss smiled at Klein before taking the cup into her hands.

"Thank you, Klein."

"You know what I think?"

He then got out a tray and put it above his face before lowering it and showing red eyes.

"I think it's to balance out all his hot air!"

As he laughed, Weiss grew afraid that he'd hear this.

"Klein!"

Then, unexpectedly, he started sneezing.

"ACHOO! Hah... heh, apologies, Madame. Ah-Ah-AH-ACHOO!"

Weiss began laughing at his sneezing as his mustache wiggled.

"Ah, there's my happy little snowflake!"

Weiss smiled at Klein for his kindness before she thanked him again. Compared to her father, Klein was the one who actually fit the role.

"Thank you, Klein."

* * *

In the forest, as the dark clouds drew closer, Pyrrha was continuing to wander alone as she held her head down. Truth is, after all this time, she's still far from recovering after the Fall of Beacon. Even before then was just as mind-wracking. Why did she have to be alive to put up with this? She then remembered why. It was because of the Grimm that saved her.

"Raider..."

She began to loathe the name now before she fell to her knees and shouted to the sky.

"WHY DID YOU LET ME LIVE?! I NEVER ASKED FOR IT!"

As Pyrrha's chest fell to the ground, she sobbed on the ground.

"I didn't ask to live... why did you let me live?"

Then, she heard deep footsteps before the source spoke.

"Because Raider don't like good people dying."

Pyrrha looked up to the source of the voice, only to find a Grimm Beowulf looking at her before she staggered back and readied her sword.

"Stay back! D-Don't get anywhere near me. Please."

The Grimm only nodded to her.

"Okay."

The Grimm then turned away before it began walking away. Pyrrha grew very confused at its behavior. Then, she remembered what it said. That meant it must've known him. So, if that was true she could be able to find him. Then, she remembered what she'd went through. Did she even want to thank him? Taking that in consideration, she could've ended it there, but no. Whether she liked it or not, she had to see him again. And if that meant socializing with the Grimm, so be it.

"Wait."

The Grimm stopped in place before it turned to her and she asked him.

"Do you actually know someone named Raider?"

The Grimm nodded to her as an answer.

"Mm-Hmm. Raider good friend. Been with him for 10 years."

Pyrrha grew curious about this.

"10 years?"

"Mm-Hmm. He like to be alone. He even ask same question to Summer Rose."

As far as Pyrrha could decipher from its sentences, Raider had been on his own for 10 years all because Summer saved him once when he was little. And yet, his own tragedy happened anyway. He resented the fact that he was alive just like she did.

"I guess... that means we can relate."

"But why? Why you no like being alive? Do you no have friend?"

Pyrrha answered quickly to it.

"Yes. I do. Four of them, actually."

"Then why?"

Pyrrha found it initially weird to be talking to a Grimm as if it were a psychologist, but the negativity needed to be let out, one way or another.

"They're... better off without me. It's just... I never counted on being alive today. The truth is, I didn't stand up to Cinder for what was right back then. I stood up to her, because... I wanted her to kill me for what I did to Penny. To Amber. To everyone. But I couldn't just go quietly. I also wanted to fight as hard as I could, even if it meant dying. No. Especially that. Cinder may have staged everything, but the Fall of Beacon happened because of me. Before then, I was so sure that my destiny was to be a Huntress, but now... I don't know if I can trust destiny anymore."

The Grimm sat down by her like it was a couch before Pyrrha rested her back on it.

"Yeah. Raider hate destiny, too."

"I never said I hated it. Just that I don't trust it. Can I even be a Huntress just by being near you and not... well, you know."

Mount nodded to her before answering.

"Yup. Raider part Grimm, part Huntsman. Chose both."

"Both? How can he? Aren't Grimm the creatures of darkness?"

"Grimm can change, too. I know."

Then, Pyrrha noticed how surprisingly comfortable the Grimm was as she relaxed into its belly before wondering if he'd given him a name.

"Hey, did Raider give you a name?"

"Mount."

"Huh?"

"My name Mount."

"Oh. Well, it's nice to meet you, Mount."

She then rubbed under its chin before it panted pleasingly. What they didn't realize was that at that moment, the boy saw Pyrrha with the Grimm and thought she had no idea what it was before he charged in.

"Hey! Get away from it!"

Pyrrha and Mount turned to see the boy charging as he yelled before he tripped and landed on his face, earning Mount's laughter.

"He funny."

Pyrrha was getting annoyed with him as she grabbed him by the collar and held him up.

"You again?"

"Get away from it, Pyrrha! That thing is crazy dangerous!"

"No, he's not. He's not like the other Grimm."

"He?"

"Yeah. _He's_ called Mount, apparently."

Mount smiled at him as the boy felt creeped out before Pyrrha brought up an issue.

"How many times are you gonna keep following me?"

"As many times as it takes. You can hate me for that, but I meant what I said. I do want to go with you. I don't know if I can even help, but still. No one should be alone."

Mount turned to Pyrrha.

"Funny man right. Loneliness make you sad. Angry. Depressed."

Pyrrha wanted to argue, but since she wasn't getting anywhere to begin with, not that it made any difference, she finally agreed, though reluctant.

"Okay. Fine. You can come with."

The boy thought she was going to answer no as he spoke to her.

"Don't try to change my mind, Pyrrha. I— Wait, what?"

"I said, 'you can come with.'"

"Oh. Well, great. But what do we do with that guy?"

Then, Pyrrha turned to Mount who looked to them in confusion before she had an idea.

"Hey, Mount. Do you think you can take us to Raider?"

Mount nodded graciously as it smiled. Then, he knelt down to allow Pyrrha and the boy to climb onto it, although he was cautious. At that moment, Pyrrha turned to the boy.

"I just weird that I didn't get _your_ name, but you know mine."

Still being surprised by the fact that he's riding a Grimm, the boy was caught off guard before he got to the topic.

"Huh? Oh, right. It's Logan. Logan Cross."

"Well, Logan, it's good to know."

Then, she lightly petted it as she spoke.

"Yip-yip."

Then, Mount walked toward the forest as the two rode on him. Logan wanted to know where they're headed.

"So, where are we going?"

Mount looked up to him before answering.

"Menagerie."

"What? Faunus H.Q? Where the White Fang is? For real?"

Pyrrha looked at him with a glare.

"Is there a problem?"

Logan grew scared of her glare before he changed his mind.

"Nope! No! There's no problem here. Let's go!"

Pyrrha lightly giggled at how frightened he is.

"Boys."

* * *

Later at night, in the forest, Ruby was having difficulty sleeping, as she had received nightmares of the Fall of Beacon when Cinder was about to end Pyrrha only for a Grim to stop her before using silver eyes to blind her and attack her before hearing Pyrrha's voice in the distance while noticing that Jaune wasn't sleeping.

"Alright, Jaune. Just like we practiced. Follow these instructions..."

As she heard it, Ruby slowly got up and walked to the source to find Jaune unsheathing his own sword from his scabbard as a video from Pyrrha played.

"Alright, Jaune. Just like we practiced. Follow these instructions. Shield up."

Then, Jaune got the shield ready as per her lesson.

"Keep your grip tight."

Jaune clutched onto his shield and sword tightly following this.

"Don't forget to keep your front foot forward. Ready? Go!"

Then, Jaune yelled as he pointed the sword with a thrust.

"Again."

As he performed another step, he made a diagonal slash that caused a gust of air.

"And again."

Jaune did another slash behind him, getting a stringer gust as he got tired.

"Okay. Now, assuming you aren't cheating... we can take a break. I know this can be frustrating. And it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount. But... I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone more determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started training. And I know this is just the beginning. Jaune... I... I... I want you to know that I am just happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune."

Then, the video reminded itself to the beginning of the session.

"Alright, Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions."

As the video went on, Jaune smiled solemnly.

"I just wish I can tell you the same."

"Ready? Go!"

Then, Jaune continued with his training as Ruby respected his wishes with a smile before walking back to bed.

* * *

Far outside near Remnant's atmosphere, a black comet was entering before it heated up and sped toward a certain abandoned village before it crashed onto the square, making a sonic boom that woke up the rest of the team who found Ruby standing by a tree and looking to the source of the sound. Nora looked to Ruby in confusion and curiosity.

"What was that?"

"I don't know."

Ren had an idea on what it was.

"Maybe it's a meteor?"

"Aw! Then, I missed it!"

* * *

At Shion, the dust settled to reveal the black comet now smoking with black air before an arm reached out and stepped forward to reveal a bizarre type of Grimm that seemed to be a Beowulf and Geist fusion as it snarled, its mask blended perfectly on his face with its mouth open to show an orange glow of fire as it hissed before roaring at the sky.

* * *

Near the isles, Raider heard that roar from far away and clutched onto his head from the intensity of it. He knew it meant one thing as the broken moon in the sky turned red.

"It's happening."

* * *

Meanwhile, Mount began to groan as he covered his ears, unknowingly rocking Pyrrha and Logan in the process before she spoke to him.

"Mount! Take it easy!"

At which point, Mount realized he had passengers before he panted and looked up to her.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. what happened?"

"Something bad. Very bad."


	4. Of Runaways and Stowaways

**Chapter 3:** "Of Runaways and Stowaways"

At the forest, Pyrrha, Logan, and Mount were nearing the docking bay as he asked their steed.

"So, uh, what do you mean by something very bad?"

"Tenebris Comet. Full of bad vibes. No like Comet."

Pyrrha grew curious about the name.

"Tenebris Comet?"

"Mm-Hmm. Boom came from there."

Mount then pointed to where a boat was taking off. Logan thought it seemed tedious.

"In the middle of the ocean?"

"No. Menagerie."

Logan thought it was strange that he's headed toward a comet that he wanted to avoid in the first place.

"That's why you want to go? I thought you hated that comet."

"Yup. Going far away."

"Well, if the boom came from out there, then where did it land?"

Mount pointed to the direction behind them.

"Boom came from here. Landed out there."

"Oh, now it makes sense."

Unfortunately, as far as Pyrrha can tell, all the boats have taken off already.

"Well, I don't think we'll be able to get there now."

Then, Logan noticed one more left.

"Actually, there's still a good one left over there."

As they turned, Mount noticed a hooded figure walking into a boat.

"Raider..."

Pyrrha noticed him too and grew relieved.

"That's him."

Logan saw him, too, but didn't quite feel as ecstatic as Pyrrha and Mount.

"That guy?"

Mount then roared as he took off toward him before Logan yelped and Pyrrha tried to hold him back.

"Whoa, Mount! Take it easy. We can't let other people see you, remember? Didn't he tell you to stay out of sight?"

Mount felt sheepish for forgetting that.

"Oh. Yeah."

Logan felt the situation was hopeless.

"So, what are we supposed to do? Dress him up in some sort of costume and hope they won't notice?"

Believe it or not, that actually gave Pyrrha an idea as she smiled.

Moments later, the trio were walking on the boat with Mount wearing a purple trench coat and a brown fedora. Logan felt the spending was unnecessary.

"Did you really have to rope me into shopping, Pyrrha?"

"I'm saving my currency for essentials. I needed your help with that, too. Besides, you're the one who said you're going to stay by my side."

"Touché."

* * *

At the same boat headed toward Menagerie, Raider was staring out at the sky while thinking about the resonation he had heard last night.

 _"First, the people of Shion went missing, and now the Tenebris Comet? What next?"_ Raider had hoped that day would never come. His father warned him and his family about the Tenebris Comet. From what Salem told his father before he met his mother, it was fated to be a comet that will produce the mightiest Grimm imaginable. As an added bonus, the Tenebris Comet is also capable of mutating anyone who makes contact with it into a dangerous Grimm. After his reformation, he always checked the sky in fear of it landing and carrying out Salem's work, as he should've been. Because now, the Comet had landed in Remnant. As he continued looking out at the sky, he began to have his sixth sense tingling. It felt human, yet not human. That gave him enough indication as to who it could be: a Faunus. Though, he had to be sure this Faunus wasn't a threat, for while he has a deep-seated hatred for the White Fang, he also knew that the Faunus can be victims just as easily. He looked left and right and couldn't find any Faunus in plain sight until his senses pointed him to a girl with a black bow on her head in a white jacket with a black crop top over her chest talking to the captain.

 _"A Faunus? What's she doing here?"_

To be sure she was no threat, she gazed into her life, discovering how she was a young optimist that originally supported the White Fang until she realized what horrible actions they've committed in the name of the Faunus.

 _Then, he witnessed her fight against a red-haired swordsman as their voices echoed._

 _"I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!"_

 _"What you want is impossible!"_

 _Then he saw him stab her before a yellow-haired girl shouted as she charged toward him before he sliced her arm off swiftly. Raider then saw the scene change and saw her lying on the floor beside her as she shed tears._

 _"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."_

After gazing into her life, Raider began growling as his blue eye turned dark red before he remembered to keep his temper just, changing it back to blue.

"Keep it together, Raider. Keep it together."

He waited until the captain wasn't talking with her and went back to work before he walked toward her and spoke.

"Blake Belladonna, I presume?"

Blake turned to the source of the voice, surprised and found a hooded figure with a mask similar to the White Fang's except it was above his blue eye and covering the area around the red eye before she reached for her weapon.

"Who are you?"

"Hey, easy. I'm not here to fight you. Especially not after everything you went through."

"How would you know what I've been through?"

Raider sighed before he answered.

"Well, believe it or not, I have a gazing semblance. It lets me look into the life of anyone I make eye contact with."

Blake felt that she was being hunted and grew even more particularly distrustful from sensing Grimm in him.

"So you can use the past against me?"

"What? No. Just... no. It's just... these days, I really don't know who to trust. I was a student at Beacon Academy once. Just like you. But... 10 years ago. The White Fang, they..."

Raider grew very angry at the thought, struggling to keep his cool.

"They _murdered_ my family."

Blake thought she was going over her argument with Weiss all over again before she asked him.

"And you hate the Faunus for that?"

"No. Just the White Fang. Faunus can be victims, too. I won't take my past out on them. Or on you, for that matter."

Blake then reached toward her head before untying the bow in her head and holding it in her hand.

"In that case, I won't be needing this."

Then, she let it drop into the ocean before she turned to him. Raider smiled at her embracing her Faunus genes.

"That's actually a good look for you."

Blake smiled back at him before she walked off into the cabin and turning to him.

"You coming?"

Raider turned to Blake before he answered.

"Nah, you go on ahead."

With that, she walked in the cabin before he felt someone watching and turned to see a hidden figure as his red eye glowed, forcing the figure to take off, leaving him confused.

"That's weird. Who was that guy? He didn't even let me get a good look at him. Something must be going on. But what?"

* * *

Far away, Yang was at her house flipping the channels with her one arm as her right sleeve was tied up to hold her lost one. Ever since the Fall of Beacon, when Adam Taurus took her arm, Yang has been adjusting to life with one arm, but with much difficulty. She still had yet to recover from the event. And yet... she had to wonder how Vale was taking it.

"...with no end in sight. Try as they might, the local Huntsmen and Huntresses cant seem to get a hold of the situation at Beacon Academy."

"...though the failsafes have supported wireless communication within the kingdom, the loss of the CCT tower continues to prevent contact with the outside world. Talks with Atlas regarding repairs have so far..."

"Vale council voted this week to continue to ban any air traffic that does not have a direct correlation with the evacuation. The council had made it clear that they feel..."

"Multiple rumors continue to circulate as to who was behind the attack at the Vytal festival tournament. While no one knows for sure, officials have confirmed that high ranking White Fang member Adam Taurus was present for the attack. Any and all attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force..."

At this point, Yang turned off the T.V. The last thing she wanted was another reminder of her weakness. As she set the remote down, she heard footsteps and saw her father carrying a lot of bags and boxes.

"I'm home!"

Yang leaned back on the couch to see her father upside-down.

"Hey, Dad."

"Guess what came in today!"

Yang was getting curious about what made him so excited.

"What?"

"I can't wait for you to try this..."

Then, she realized what he'd been talking about as she looked to her right stump. She'd forgotten that she wanted a new arm and made a request months ago when she came back. As he set it down, Yang was still trying to come to terms with it.

"Well?" "It's... for me?"

"For you and you only."

With all that effort from his father and her waiting, she decided she at least had to look as she lightly opened it to see a silver metal arm.

"Brand new, state of the art Atlas tech. You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull some strings, call in a few favors, but you earned this one all on your own, kiddo."

"Huh?"

"Before I could even talk to him, General Ironwood already had one of his top scientists working on this... for you. He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself."

Yang felt the complete opposite of that. How could she be proud when she lost her arm to a White Fang member? And a top ranking one, no less.

"Well? You gonna try it on?"

There was a moment of silence before she gave her answer.

"I, uh... I'm not feeling too great right now. Maybe later?"

He didn't know what to think. He thought that she'd be thrilled, but then realized she still hadn't completely recovered just yet and decided to leave her be.

"Well, alright."

Then, Yang walked up to the stairs before turning back to her father.

"Thanks, Dad."

As she went back to her room her father showed concern on her recovery.

As time passed, Yang was sweeping the porch with her one arm before she got sweaty and set it on her stump before sighing. Next, she had to get mail from the mailbox, setting the envelopes in-between her stump and her body. Finally, she was getting herself a drink of water before the cup slipped. She gasped as it fell, momentarily bringing back a flash of when Adam hurt her, utterly causing her to panic as she stumbled back while breathing heavily. She slammed her fist on the table in a fit of disappointment toward the reminder of what a coward she is now thanks to Adam. She was able to calm herself down, though, not noticing her father watching her daughter struggle to cope with the events before walking away sadly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Pyrrha, Logan, and Mount were walking about the cabin, seeing a lot of people in one place. Pyrrha and Logan turned to Mount.

"You better let us handle this, big guy."

"Yeah. Can't be too careful around here."

As Mount watched, they started asking the people and Faunus there while looking for Raider. While Pyrrha talked to one of the Faunus, Logan talked to a sailor.

"Excuse me, have you seen someone named Raider?"

As he explained, though, Logan was demonstrating the broodiness of his character.

"He looks like a hooded mysterious guy on the ship. Have you seen him?"

When they both received "no" as an answer, Pyrrha and Logan went to another passenger of their own.

"Have _you_ seen Raider?"

"Have you seen a hooded Huntsman in here?"

"No."

Then, Pyrrha and Logan exchanges their questions after each rebuttal.

"Do you—?"

"No."

"Have you—?"

"No."

Logan was getting frustrated with their luck.

"Ugh! It's hopeless! We're never gonna find someone who knows the guy, because no one knows who he is!"

Finally, it was the disguised Mount's turn as he found a stranger in a red hood to ask.

"Excuse me. Did you see Raider?"

Pyrrha and Logan panicked as they waved their hands back and forth trying to tell him to stop.

"He have one blue eye, one red eye. Grey hood..."

The stranger replied to him.

"Uh, sure. I think I saw him out on the docks."

The stranger looked out of the window before bowing.

"Thank you."

Then, as Mount walked back to them, he spoke.

"I found Raider."

At this point, Mount noticed Pyrrha and Logan's mouths open wide from surprise at how he wasn't figured out yet.

"What?"

* * *

Later, at sunset, Raider was looking out to the sunset as Blake stepped out to join him before she spoke.

"Really beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yep. It's times like this, you really think there can be peace. But that's not the truth, though, is it?"

Remembering what had happened to Yang during the Fall of Beacon, Blake grew very sad at this as she hung her head down.

"I guess not."

Neither of them knew that Logan, Pyrrha, and Mount were watching them.

Pyrrha grew surprised to see Blake.

"Wait. Is that Blake?"

Logan was confused on who Blake was.

"Wait, Blake is a Faunus? And why does she have a guy's name?"

"Yes, and I don't know, Logan."

Mount grew anxious to see Raider and was getting impatient.

"When will Mount get to see Raider?"

Logan shushed him up fast.

"Quiet, man."

Then, one of Blake's ears perked up before turning to where they were previously, only to find no one there. Raider noticed this and asked her what was wrong.

"What's up?"

"Don't know. I thought... I heard someone."

Evidently, she did, but her looking had caused Mount to back up while simultaneously shadowing Pyrrha and Logan in the process.

"That was way too close."

Considering their position, Logan felt otherwise.

"Was?"

Then, Raider felt an overpowering sense of someone watching them, too. But it was in another direction before he looked up and saw the same figure from before.

"Well, I think I did, too."

Then, Blake saw the figure as well before getting her weapon out and turning it into a whip.

"Who's there?!"

The figure just ran away before either of them got the answer as not too long after, they felt the boat rock from the waves.

Pyrrha, Logan, and Mount felt the tremor as well, though the last of the three was more susceptible to seasickness.

"What was that, Pyrrha?"

"I don't know. But I don't think that was supposed to happen."

"I feel sick."

Shortly after the waves, they found the source of it: a giant Grimm in the shape of a undersea dragon. They weren't the only ones as the sailor shouted to another in the deck.

"Red alert!"

As the alarm went off, the captain and another sailor noticed the creature.

"By the gods..."

The Grimm then roared at the ship and company, urging him to battle.

"All hands to battle stations!"

The sailor didn't think that they'd stand a chance.

"Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!"

"We've never _seen_ something this big. But we'll give 'er a fight, nonetheless."

Raider knew he was into something before he summoned a black sword with a red glow along the edges known as Armageddon.

"Well, you heard the captain."

With that, the two took off toward it before she produced a copy of her own that hurtled her closer to the Grimm before tossing one side of her weapon at it, sticking it into its face before flying to another side of it and shooting at its back while Raider slashes a dark red portal to enter before popping out to just above it before impaling it in the back, earning its shriek before he ended up riding it as it began jumping around the ship as Blake was forced to retreat and land on the ship before the ship started causing turbulence.

Meanwhile, said turbulence was making Mount even more sick.

"I don't feel good..."

Logan didn't want to know what Grimm upchuck looks like and urged him to hold it in.

"Oh, no! You're not gonna puke all over us, Mount! Don't you dare!"

Then, Pyrrha noticed the giant Grimm attacking them.

"Look!"

As they did, Logan grew frightened at its enormous size.

"Holy crud!"

Then, the ship got its cannons ready before Blake leaped at the giant Grimm and slashed at its face while Raider regained his footing and proceeded to travel upward while slicing its back, causing it to convulse and contort in pain before they fired, unintentionally hitting Blake and Raider in the process. Fortunately, they landed back on the boat. However, they sustained injury from the cannons before Raider noticed it.

"You alright, Blake?"

"Just fine."

Suddenly, Pyrrha shouted to them.

"Blake! Raider!"

Then, she looked toward Pyrrha and found her in the company of Logan and Mount in disguise, as did Raider.

"Pyrrha?"

"Mount?"

"What are you doing here?"

Mount nervously waved to them in response.

"Hello."

Logan realized he was being left out before he spoke.

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?"

In the deck, the captain held his courage.

"Hold steady, men. It's not done with us yet. Get the heavy cannon loaded!"

Then, a large cannon came up from the top of the ship before the Grimm took notice of it and had a surprise of its own. It suddenly grew wings on its back before flapping them, sending a gust of wind toward them. Logan didn't find it helpful for them.

"Oh, great! That thing has wings now?!"

"Heavy cannon, open fire!"

The cannon fired at the Grimm, only for it to miss before it started having a yellow light inside the mouth. Raider knew it wasn't good.

"Oh, great. We better stop it from firing."

Raider took off toward the Grimm while Blake was rudely interrupted by a stranger on a red figure as he jumped in her head.

"Hey!"

The stranger then leaped into the air before the cloak removed itself to reveal a Faunus with blonde hair and a monkey's tail as he summoned two more copies of light before Blake figured out who he was.

"Sun?!"

The Faunus jumped into the Grimm before his copies pulled in its antennae. "Not today, pal!" Then, it fired away from the ship before Blake spoke to him. "What are you doing?!"

"Uh... Uh... you know... Just... uh... hanging out!"

Raider facepalmed himself before he spoke.

"Is there anyone else we should know about?"

Logan and the others shook their heads for an answer as the Grimm zigzagged in the air before electrocuting Sun off of it before Blake noticed and used her rope to swing her toward Sun as he fell, catching him and landing in the sand with the boy in his arms.

"My hero!"

Blake wasn't very happy about the situation.

"You're not supposed to be here!"

"Yeah? Well, it looks like you could use all the help you can get."

Blake grew annoyed with him before dropping him.

"Just shut up and fight."

She then leaped from one rock to another as Sub laid in the sand.

"Yes, ma'am."

At the ship, the sailors gave the report of the ship's condition to the captain while Raider held it off.

"Starboard defenses are down, sir."

"We still got the heavy cannon?"

"Aye, but it's moving too fast. We can't land a hit!"

"How about the engines?"

"Fully functional, captain."

"All right, then."

As the dragon fired its yellow light at the ship, Raider cleaved it while absorbing it into the sword before the red glow turned yellow as the captain called out to him.

"Huntsman! If you can clip its wings and draw it out towards the bow, we can take it!"

Raider then looked to Blake before looking to Sun, Pyrrha, and the others.

"Alright. I've got a plan. Sun, you'll use your copies to hoist Blake as high in the air as you can."

"Got it! Wait, how do you know my name?"

"Blake, you're with me. You take one wing, I'll take the other."

"Got it."

Logan got confused on his role.

"Well, what about me?"

Raider didn't really know what he can do, mostly because he hadn't gotten a long enough look at him yet, so he had to bench him.

"You'll... stay in the ship and make sure it doesn't go overboard."

"What? What about the rest of us going overboard?"

"Figure it out!"

Then, Sun creates four light copies, chucking each other up while one stayed in the air. Blake then took a leap from copy to copy before she got to the original. When Blake got near him, he was expecting a chance to lift her up, only for Blake to jump onto his shoulders before Raider appeared via portal beside her as it retaliated with lightning bolts. However, they managed to evade the attacks before they drew their weapons and both cut down its wings, practically grounding it, while Blake was now trying to find her footing as she fell towards the ground, to which Raider noticed before he did the same. Underneath Blake, though, Sun was waiting to catch her as she landed in his arms before Raider landed beside them while causing a great quake on the island, shaking him a little bit before Sun turned to Blake.

"This is the part where you say it."

She wasn't fond of that before the rocks suddenly broke apart as the Grimm tipped it over, forcing the group to jump from rock to rock as Sun was left behind.

"Okay, maybe later."

As the creature followed them, the captain paid attention to it as he gave the order to put it full speed ahead. As they made it go fast, Pyrrha, Mount, and Logan ended up falling onto the boat before Logan saw Mount falling off of the boat before grabbing him. Mount looked up in surprise to see Logan holding his hand.

"Thank you."

As it turned out, Logan was being held on the waist by Pyrrha as he pulled.

"No. Thank you for potentially breaking my back."

Meanwhile, the trio were leading it into many rocks before it broke through one of them and was about to close its mouth on Sun before Blake saved him, only to see it point its lightning breath at them. Suddenly, the ship crashed into the Grimm before the captain shouted.

"Fire!"

Then, with a loud bang, the creature's long head was shot off before it fell dead on the bow as they cheered. As Raider got to them, he found Sun cheering.

"Ha hah! Up top!"

However, Blake wasn't happy with that as she turned to him and proceeded to slap him on the face with a loud thwack.

"You owe me an explanation."

Raider then turned to Mount as he spoke.

"You're not the only one here who needs one, Blake."

* * *

Later at night, as Blake was arguing with Sun, Raider was talking to Mount, frustrated with him.

"Why are you here? I told you to stay out of sight."

Logan spoke up in defense.

"Hey, for your information, he _is_ hidden. He's wearing a disguise, and it worked."

"That's not the point! Do you have any idea what could've happened to you, Mount?"

"I'm sorry."

Then, Pyrrha spoke up.

"Please, Raider. Don't be mad at him."

From hearing his name, Raider grew shocked.

"How do you know my name?"

"Cinder called you that. Back when you saved me at Beacon."

Raider then realized who was talking to him.

"Pyrrha. So you do remember."

"Remember? I haven't spent one day forgetting about it since then. But all I want to know is why. Mount already told me that you just don't like people dying."

"Then why are you asking?"

"Because... I need to know if it was destiny."

Raider wasn't particularly fond of that word as he clenched his hand.

"Destiny... has nothing to do with this."

Pyrrha remembered what Mount told him about Raider's feeling toward destiny before walking up to him.

"Look at me, Raider. I was willing to die because I thought it was my destiny to. But you... made me reevaluate that. Maybe you didn't save me out of the goodness out of your own heart, and maybe it doesn't mean anything to you, but it means something to _me_. Even if I can't trust it, it does. So answer me honestly. Why did you save me?"

Raider sighed solemnly before he answered for real.

"Because you should've been the Fall Maiden. Not Cinder. That's all."

That hurt Pyrrha a little bit, to tell the truth. But at the same time, she couldn't blame him. After what she did, she'd have done the same thing.

"Okay. Thank you."

Raider grew confused at her gratefulness.

"For what? Mount said you wanted to die."

"But that didn't mean I needed to. You helped me see that. So, thanks. Again."

"You're welcome."

Then, Raider walked to the edge of the ship to look at the fractured moon before Pyrrha spoke.

"So, what do we do now?"

"We?"

"Yeah. You, me, Logan, and Mount."

Raider didn't exactly sign up for it before he tried to refuse.

"No, Pyrrha. I can't ask you to be anywhere near me."

"You didn't ask. We're volunteering."

However, Logan was busy with something else before she found her and decided to speak up.

"Okay, let me just say something. I... actually can't stay in the team for long. After we stop at Menagerie, I'm headed to Atlas."

Pyrrha grew surprised to hear this.

"What? Why?"

Logan wasn't afraid to come clean about someone they know.

"You guys know Weiss Schnee?"

Raider knew her, though he hadn't met her necessarily.

"The heiress to the Schnee Dust Company?"

"Yeah. My father found some dirt on the whole company. Turned out, he was using the Faunus as slaves working in the mines, not even caring about what happens to them, because all he cares about is money. That day, there was a cave-in. My father gave his life to save a young Faunus from being crushed, but he couldn't save himself. After that, Jacques held a funeral for my father. But I know for a fact that he staged the whole thing just to get popular. And I know he has the evidence. Once I get it, I can bring his whole company down and make my dad proud."

After listening to his whole story, Pyrrha knew that Weiss wasn't proud of the company, but she didn't want to get rid of it, so she snapped at him.

"Are you out of your mind?! Weiss is nothing like her father!"

"Yeah. How do you know?"

"Because I've spent time with her."

"Oh, sure. Everyone else has gotten to know her except me. Coincidence? I don't think so."

"You arrogant, little—!"

Before she could explode, Raider stopped her.

"Pyrrha. That's not how a team works. They have to want to be a part of it. They can't be forced."

Pyrrha grumbled before realizing what he just said.

"Wait, you said we're a team?"

"Don't get your hair in a twist."

Then, Raider turned to Logan.

"Logan, if you really want to go to Atlas, I won't stop you. But please. Just think about what you're doing."

"My mind's been made up from the beginning. Like it or not, I'm going."

With that, Logan walked away from the group and into the cabin as Mount looked sadly to him. In the short time he's been around Logan, he's actually grown fond of him.

"Don't go."

Raider then turned to Pyrrha, evidently still stuck on the team speech.

"We'll talk about this in the morning. You need to rest."

Pyrrha grew sorry for him before she had to comply with the suggestion.

"Uh... okay." Then, she held Mount's hand as the two walked into the cabin next while Raider stared out at the moon.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Evernight Castle, Salem was treating Cinder's arm with that of a Geist as she groaned from its power.

"Do you feel it? Don't fight it, girl. It can sense your trepidation. You must make it dread you."

Then, Cinder turned to the door as a floating reconnaissance drone of hers went to her before she spoke.

"Cinder. I'm gong to ask you this one more time and I expect a clear answer. Did you kill Ozpin?"

Cinder motioned to Emerald and Mercury to come to her, only for Salem to react angrily as she slammed on the table to make herself clear.

"No! I want to hear you say it."

Cinder mustered all the voice she could to form an answer before it came out raspy.

"Yes."

Salem then turned to the drone beside her before giving it an order.

"Reinforce our numbers at Beacon. The relic is there."

The drone then went out of the door before Salem pondered to herself.

"What are you planning? No matter. The Tenebris Comet has already landed by now. Whether they're ready or not, my new soldier will make them sorry..."


	5. Family

**A/N: Here comes the next chapter. BTW, the creature that emerged from the Tenebris Comet can actually speak as well, as it provided the same, if not greater, intelligence of a human being. It's also known as Gath and will be portrayed by Clancy Brown. I also feel the need to tell you that after I saw the new trailer for Venom yesterday (so awesome, by the way), it helped me to determine how Jacques Schnee will kick the bucket. That's all I have to say, non-spoiler wise. I'm sure you can figure that part out yourselves. Enjoy. :)**

 **Chapter 4:** "Family"

Out at the farm, Oscar was just headed back into the barn after a long day before turning to the sink and felt as if someone was watching him. He stared toward the sink before he spoke to the reflection.

"Hello?"

After a moment, Oscar heard his voice, although admittedly in a strange place: his reflection as it suddenly took the form of an older man.

"Hello! I'm Professor Ozpi—"

Before he could finish, Oscar leapt back into the hay in shock before his aunt called to him.

"Oscar! You be careful with those tools!"

Oscar didn't want her to worry, so he just reassured her.

"Okay!"

Then, he got back up and looked back into the reflection.

"Sorry. Who did you say you were?"

"I'm Professor Ozpin."

"Ozpin? Wait. That Raider guy was looking for you."

Ozpin grew surprised at this, having not seen him for 10 years after the White Fang's attack.

"He was?"

He then began to get concerned as how Oscar viewed him given his... condition.

"And what did you think of him?"

"Well... he's a Huntsman. And a good person."

Ozpin then smiled in relief towards the young lad.

"Well, that's good to hear."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, Yang was somehow trapped in a bizarre realm hearing strange voices before looking at her hands and looking up to see Adam Taurus walking toward her. Then, Yang noticed she had her gauntlets on her arms before she fired bullets at him, only to phase through him as he prepared to draw his sword. She tried one more time, only to find that the gauntlets have disappeared, as well as her right arm. As he pulled on the sword, Adam swiftly slashed through her, though strangely enough, it didn't pierce her. Though, that didn't mean he never pierced something through. Yang turned behind her to see a portal with a dark new breed of Grimm appearing before her as it snarled before roaring at her face, its mouth glowing with fire._

With a start, Yang woke up before she turned to her replacement arm. Even after all her trauma... no. _Because_ of her trauma, she still refused to put it on. She always saw it as a weight dragging her down ever since it came to her. Before she could have another thought, she heard laughter down the stairs before Yang walked down and heard Port speaking.

"And-and- and then in comes Qrow, wearing a skirt! I was just a T.A. I... I didn't know what to do, so I just left the room to laugh!"

Another round of laughter started before Taiyang spoke next.

"Yeah, we told him it was a kilt, he'd never worn a uniform before so he didn't know."

Oobleck, funny as it was, poked fun at him.

"That is terrible! What is wrong with you?!"

"Hey! The girls all said he had nice legs! I did that jerk a favor! Besides, that's not even the best part! See, then we—"

Then, Port interrupted by planting his foot on the table.

"Like what you see?"

Then, they heard another burst of laughter before Port fell, causing the laugh to grow even louder before Yang joined in with a light giggle, catching the latter's notice.

"Oh, um, Miss Xiao Long! Please, join us."

As Yang walked in, Oobleck made an offer.

"Yes, yes, pull up a chair. Please, pull up a chair."

"I'm good."

Then, Yang sat up on the counter before she turned to him.

"Despite popular belief, teachers do have a life outside the classroom."

"Professor Goodwitch is working around the clock to restore Beacon to its former glory. But Mistral isn't built in a day, and we need some rest from time to time."

Taiyang laughed at this a bit before speaking.

"Look, let's not worry about that right now. So, there we were, standing in the auditorium, looking at Qrow wearing a skirt! Then Oz tells everyone: 'It's time to work on our landing strategy!'"

The group, excluding Yang, laughed a bit before Oobleck and Port spoke up.

"The Branwen twins have always been... interesting, to say the least."

"That sure didn't stop young Tai..."

"Hey, come on, man. She's right here."

"Oh, please! She's a mature young woman. If she can handle combat, she can handle a few jabs at her old man."

"That's not the issue, Pete. And besides, she's still a teenager."

Yang didn't like being babied by her father, so she took the opportunity to speak for herself.

"'She' is also in the room and can be directly spoken to. And 'I' think I've been through enough to be considered an adult at this point."

Taiyang sighed in towards her daughter's opinion disagreement.

"Adult or not, you still got a long way to go before you're ready for the real world."

"Oh my gosh! Does every father figure just have the same three condescending phrases?"

"Yeah, but we only use them when we mean it!"

"Is that so?"

"As a matter of fact, it is so! If you honestly think that you're ready to go out there on your own... well, guess you lost some brain cells along with that arm."

That stunned Yang for her father to say that as Oobleck dropped the cup into the table. However, the reaction wasn't quite what they expected as Yang smiled a bit before lightly jabbing him.

"You jerk!"

Then, she laughed with her father before Oobleck spoke up.

"Are we finally talking about the Goliath in the room?"

That made them pause for a moment before laughing even harder. After the laughter died down a bit, Port spoke to Yang.

"Miss Xiao Lo— Yang. If you don't mind me asking, why haven't you tried on the arm yet?"

"Oh, yes, yes! A piece of Atlas technology being given out like that is rare indeed, not to mention the effort it took to deliver it here. It seems a great many people want you to return to normal."

Yang took a moment before she opened up to them.

"I'm... scared. Everyone keeps talking about me getting back to normal and I appreciate it. But..."

Yang then motioned to her stump in reference.

" _This..._ is normal now. It's just... taking me a while to get used to it."

Her father decided to give her a piece of advice about her take on normal.

"Well... Normal is what you make of it."

"What is that supposed to mean? Do you want me to just pretend like nothing happened? I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone and it's never coming back."

"You're right. It's not coming back. But that doesn't have to stop you from becoming who you want to be. You're Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon. You can do whatever you put your mind to. So, whenever you're ready to stop moping, and get back out there, I'll be there for you."

Yang still wasn't quite sure about whether she wanted to or not, considering Adam Taurus is still out there.

"I..."

Port decided to join in to help her at this point.

"Fear is like any other emotion, it comes and goes. It's all in how you handle it. Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time."

Yang found it hard to believe, considering he was laughing a lot earlier.

"Really? You?"

Then, Oobleck explained to Yang what he meant.

"He's afraid of mice."

"They bring only disease and famine!"

Then, Yang began laughing as Port ranted about them.

"And don't even get me started on their tails! So hairless, simply unnatural."

Oobleck had to reassure Port as Yang giggled.

"Port, I assure you, you're safe. There's no mice here right now."

Later, Yang walked back up the stairs before waving to them.

"Goodnight."

As she walked to her room, she looked back to her arm before hearing laughter outside of the house before Port thanked Taiyang.

"Thanks for having us over, Tai."

"Anytime. You're always welcome."

Then, Oobleck spoke to him next.

"It may be a while before we return. There is still much work to be done at the school."

Then, Port spoke of another issue.

"I... hesitate to ask, but... is there any word from Young Miss Rose?"

Taiyang responded solemnly.

"Not yet."

"Have you thought about going after her? Trying to bring her home?"

Taiyang clenched his hand from the question before sighing deeply.

"I've got to... look after some things."

That made Yang remember what she said to Ruby back at home, not long after Beacon fell.

" _Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby! Just leave me alone."_

Having that be the last thing she said to Ruby made it all the more worse as she started shedding tears at what she said to her before she tried to contain her sobs while speaking to herself.

"Oh, Ruby... I'm so sorry..."

Then, Yang looked back to her arm before remembering what her father said next.

" _Whenever you're ready to stop moping, and get back out there, I'll be there for you."_

Yang looked at her stump next before looking to the arm as she clenched her only hand.

"I'll find you, Ruby. I promise."

* * *

At the boat, Logan was checking his backpack to make sure everything, especially the family photo, was present while he and Mount continued back and forth in their dialogue.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No, no, no! A thousand times no! I meant what I said!"

There was a moment of pause before Mount spoke again.

"Please?"

"Ugh! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

Pyrrha spoke to him next.

"Funny. I asked you the same thing."

Logan turned to retaliate against Pyrrha's words before he realized it was hypocritical to begin with.

"Yeah, well at least I didn't keep on pestering yo— oh."

"Why you want to leave, funny man?"

"You know why. I have to make Jacques pay for what he did to my father."

"At the expense of Weiss's home?"

"Why should I care? Her father's a self-righteous dirtbag! What kind of person do you think that makes her?"

Pyrrha tensed her hand before restraining her anger and speaking to him, making Mount feel awkward before nervously walking out.

"I'll wait outside."

"I told you. She's _nothing_ like her father."

"So you keep saying."

"It's true, though. Weiss told me that her father always expected her to be perfect. And if she doesn't live up to that... she's left to rot. Worse, he _makes_ her rot."

"So what?"

"'So what?' 'So what?!' So, Weiss never asked to be a daughter of an abusive father! That's 'so what!'"

"You do realize that's not going to stop me from going to Atlas, right? If what you say is true, then that's all the more reason to shut the Schnee Dust Company down for good."

"But Weiss is trying to set it right!"

"Really? How?"

"By owning the company! She told me that the Schnee Dust Company has always had a stain because of her father. Taking it over in his place is the only way to wipe it clean."

Logan felt shocked that Weiss would be aware of that and try to fix that before he remembered the kind of cold person she was at Beacon Academy from one of his friend's experiences.

"You really think any of that is true?"

Pyrrha nodded to him without hesitation.

"Yes. There's more to life than revenge, Logan. If you're gonna go to Atlas, then by all means, go to Atlas. But at least think about that."

Then, Pyrrha walked out of the room as Logan looked at the picture of him, his father, and his mother before he sighed.

Outside the boat, Logan stared out at the sunrise before Pyrrha walked over to him.

"Hey, Raider." Raider looked over to Pyrrha and spoke to her.

"Hey, Pyrrha. I see you've gotten your rest."

"Yeah. About last night... did you really mean that? About being a part of it?"

Raider sighed a bit before he answered her.

"Well... that depends. How many of you are willing to go along?"

Pyrrha knew Logan didn't want to go, but also knew that Mount didn't want him to leave.

"I... don't know. All I know for certain is... I am."

Then, Raider spoke to her as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Well, either way, I'm gonna be going somewhere for a bit. I'll be back by the time the boat reaches Menagerie. Until then, I need you to figure out which of you his going. Can you do that?"

Pyrrha nodded to him before Raider patted her back.

"You'll figure this out, Pyrrha. I know you will."

Then, Raider opened a portal with his Armageddon before looking back to her.

"I have faith in you."

Then, he walked into the portal before it disappeared, leaving Pyrrha to look out at the sunrise next.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team RNJR was walking to the next village as Ruby held the map.

"Come on guys! If we pick up the pace, we can hit the next town before sunset."

Jaune grew a bit dismal since Shion's shortage of villagers.

"Assuming it's still there."

"Of course it'll be there! This ones supposed to be pretty big."

Ruby looked to the map before trying to pronounce the word.

"Hee... gan... bay... na..."

Ren knew what she was really trying to say.

"Higanbana. It's a well-protected village with a popular inn."

Nora felt it was good news given the weather.

"Which means... no more camping in the rain!"

Ruby felt her point was made.

"See? Everything's gonna be fine!"

Then, Jaune found himself uplifted by Ruby's positive energy.

"You know, we've had a lot of ups and downs, but things could be a lot worse. Really thought we'd see more Grimm."

"As did I."

"I guess our luck is finally turning around. To Higanbana!"

"To Higanbana!"

"To Higanban... banna!"

However, as the team walked, they remained blissfully unaware of the beowulf watching them before it leaped at them, only to be unpacked by the Grimm that emerged from the Tenebris Comet as it snarled before it demonstrated its intellect with speech.

"Such useless savages..."

Apparently, Qrow noticed this in alarm as he remained hidden as the creature spoke.

"To think that you mindless creatures are supposed to be _my_ progeny. But don't worry..."

Then, he lifted the Grimm up to his face before speaking onward.

"The Comet will make you whole again..."

Then, he clutched its mask before splintering it from inside its head, causing its head to break apart before the dark mists swarm to a distant location rather than fading away.

"Soon, all of Remnant will fear the name... of Gath."

Qrow felt he got all the info he needed before noticing a raven with red eyes on a branch flying away before Qrow repeated a word Nora said considering their trek thus far.

"Hmph... 'luck.'"

* * *

Later that same day, Team RNJR went into an inn adjacent to a tavern, to which Ruby looked out the window and noticed her Uncle Qrow at a tavern before Jaune got her attention.

"Ruby? What's up?"

"I just thought I saw someone... can you guys let me know what room I'll be in? I just gotta check on something real quick."

"Uh, okay."

Then, Ruby walked out of the inn and sneaked by the tavern's walls while peeking inward and saw her uncle at a table.

"Uncle Qrow?"

She continued to watch as he received a glass of a drink.

"Oh, I didn't—"

The waitress explained where it came from.

"From the woman upstairs. Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind a bottom shelf."

The waitress and Qrow looked upwards before he thanked her.

"Thanks."

"But I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you!"

As she walked away, Qrow noticed that the team wasn't standing anymore before he spoke.

"Yeah."

* * *

Then, outside in the rain, a dark portal appeared, much to Ruby's surprise as Raider emerged, earning her yelp. Raider saw her before he spoke to her.

"Hey, Ruby."

Ruby, having the opportunity to see him in months, grew surprised.

"Is that all you have to say?! You really scared me!"

"Didn't know you'd be in Higanbana."

As he started walking into the tavern, Ruby spoke to him. Since she's been away from the team, Ruby wanted to know about Pyrrha's status.

"Did you see Pyrrha yet?"

Then, Raider stopped in place before he spoke.

"Actually... she found me."

"Oh. That's great! So... what are you doing?"

"I'd ask you the same thing."

"Well... I thought I saw Uncle Qrow."

Raider then figured out what she's trying to do.

"So you're trying to figure out why he hasn't spoken to you if he's been with you this whole time."

"Well, uh... yeah."

"Come with me."

Then, Raider took Ruby's hand before the two walked into the tavern. At the same time, Qrow was walking up the stairs to meet the woman upstairs. Sure enough, he saw a long black-haired girl in a red dress with her mask on the table.

"Hello, brother."

"Raven."

At the tavern, Raider and Ruby couldn't find him.

"Where is Uncle Qrow?"

Then, Raider noticed him at the stairs before he activated a semblance to make himself and Ruby invisible before she grew ecstatic.

"Ah! Where am I?!"

"Shh! Quiet, Ruby. This is an invisibility semblance, not a silence semblance."

"Sorry."

Then, the two walked up the stairs to where Qrow was before he spoke to her.

"So, what do you want?"

"A girl can't just catch up with her family?"

Ruby grew surprised to hear that as she exclaimed in a whisper.

"Wait... that's Aunt Raven...!"

"Shh! I know that, Ruby."

Qrow continued on with the conversation.

"She can, but you're not. How about we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these coming."

Then, Raven asked him a different question in response following a moment's stillness.

"Does she have it?"

Qrow hardly saw that as important compared to everything Ruby and her friends went through.

"Did you know Yang lost her arm?"

Raven felt offended before she spoke.

"That's not—"

"Rhetorical question. I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you bring up family then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist."

"I saved her."

"Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real 'Mom of the Year' material, sis."

Raven took her brother's arm in angry panic, haunted by Salem's potential and possibly inevitable rule.

"I told you Beacon would fall, and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail, and he has. Now you tell me. Does... Salem... have it?"

"I thought you weren't interested in all of that."

"I just want to know what we are up against."

"And which 'we' are you referring to?"

Then, Raven let go of his arm in anger before she sat back down.

"You should come back, Raven. The only way we beat her is by working together. All of us."

Then, Raider could tell where this was going as he whispered to Ruby.

"Just stay here, Ruby. I'll cover this."

"Okay."

"You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them."

Qrow set the drink down in restrained anger.

"They were killers and thieves."

"They were a family."

"You have a very skewed perception of that word."

Raven stood up in anger before she spoke.

"I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival."

Then, Raider spoke behind her as he reappeared.

"Then you should know what option is the best one to take."

Raven staggered back in alarm as Raider walked toward her.

"Just like I know that in spite of your clan's heartless motives, you don't have anything to do with the disappearance of Shion's people. In fact, something worse landed there instead. The Tenebris Comet."

Raven immediately grew practically frightened at the mere mention of it, aware of its powers.

"What? It's here already?"

"Yes. And we need you and your clan's help to take it out, whether you like it or not. Or do you even care?"

"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."

"The rules have changed, Raven. It's high-time you do the same."

Raven only stepped to the table before getting her mask.

"If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about."

Raider clutched his Grimm hand onto her mask, earning her shock, mostly due to how unnatural it was as his eyes flared red, scaring Ruby a bit as she held her voice to avoid being spotted.

"You're a broken coward! You can't run away forever!"

"I can. And I will, if I have to."

Then, Raven took her mask back before opening a portal and walking into it. Shortly after, the group heard the waitress gasp in surprise before Qrow and Raider turned to her as the former held a glass to her.

"Make this one a double."

Then, Raider turned to see Ruby's invisible, frightened face before walking over to her as he spoke to Qrow.

"Why is your sister always a stick in the mud?"

"Dunno. Just is."

Then, he walked down the stairs as Ruby followed him until they exited the tavern. At which point, Raider turned to Ruby.

"So that's why we haven't seen any Grimm... it was all because of Uncle Qrow..."

Raider felt bad for her before he tried to speak with her.

"Ruby..."

"Why did you let me go with you, huh? Why?"

"I... don't honestly know what you could be feeling right now, but... what I can tell you is, you're lucky to have someone who stayed by your side."

Then, Raider opened a portal with his Armageddon before walking through as it disappeared, leaving Ruby in the rain as she began to show a morbid look on her face.

"Yeah. Lucky."

* * *

Meanwhile, out at Taiyang's house, he was watering the plants when he heard the door open and saw Yang walking out with the new arm attached to her stump. Yang turned to her father before he looked back to her.

"Okay. Let's get started."


	6. Menagerie

**A/N: In this chapter, we'll see (a little) more of the effects of Raider's choice to show Ruby what was going down between Qrow and Raven, as well as seeing the truth behind the lack of Grimm, blunting her positive energy some. Not to worry, though. It'll be more explained in the next episode or the one after. I promise I will have this explained before it ends. Enjoy. :)**

 **Chapter 5:** "Menagerie"

At the inn, the rest of Team RNJR noticed Ruby walking in completely drenched before Jaune saw her depressed face.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

Ruby wasn't listening to him, still thinking about how Yang wanted her to leave. At least, that's how she felt Yang was telling her. When Jaune repeated himself, Ruby looked up to Jaune.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Just fine."

Ren and Nora looked at her as she walked past them and sat down on the bed.

"Just peachy."

Jaune knew, however, wanted to find out why she suddenly got mopey as he tried to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Ruby swatted it away swiftly in response to that.

"I said I'm fine! I'm just... I'm not in the mood right now."

Then, Ruby pulled a blanket over her face as the others looked to one another, clearly worried about her.

On the outskirts of Higanbana, Gath noticed Ruby at the window and found out she's not in high spirits. He then spoke to the air.

"I've found her, my Pale Lady. And she's not in the best of moods. What do you want me to do?"

Salem initiated a dialogue with him mentally, clearly surprised by Ruby's sudden lack of energy.

" _Well, what a wonder. I've never seen her so down before... She must've taken a healthy dose of reality."_

Then, Salem smiled, thinking of how valuable she could be to their faction.

" _Maybe you can fix that. I need you to bring Ruby to the Tenebris Comet. Once she's enlightened on the way the world works, Cinder and I will visit her ourselves and give her our warmest welcome."_

"I understand. And the boy?"

" _Leave him to Dexus. He's taking care of it as we speak. But first, you'll show Remnant something to be afraid of... in Atlas."_

"As you wish."

* * *

At the boat, Pyrrha was in the cabin with Logan and Mount talking with them and making sure they're certain about where to go. Of course, Pyrrha was already certain about where Logan was going.

"Okay, so Logan is going to Atlas, that much we know. But what about you, Mount?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. You obviously don't want him to go..."

That gave Pyrrha an idea that she believed would satisfy the both of them.

"Maybe you can go to Atlas with him."

Logan wasn't particularly fond of the idea of having a Grimm with him as he snapped.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Really?"

"Why not? You seem really attached to Logan."

Logan decided to pipe up louder to make his voice heard.

"Oh, no! I object!"

Then, Pyrrha spoke to Logan next as she put her hand in his shoulder.

"Well, he obviously won't stop begging you not to go if you choose the alternative. Besides, think of it this way: he can be your wingman."

That made Mount blink his eyes in curiosity.

"Wingman?"

"You know, someone who stays by your side and helps you out."

"Ooh."

Logan tried one more time to refuse the change, but then realized his protest wasn't making any difference. So, reluctantly, he agreed.

"Okay, fine."

Mount then began bouncing around the room in joy, shaking the boat in the process before Logan stopped him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! If you're gonna be my wingman, you need to control your emotions."

"Got it."

"And you also need to follow my instructions without question."

"Okay."

"And finally..."

Then, he took a look at his attire before he carried on.

"Keep wearing that. It actually suits you."

"Thank you."

Then, Pyrrha spoke to Logan in an attempt to change his mind one more time.

"So, you're really going? I thought you didn't want me to be alone?"

"Well, you're not anymore. Because you'll be with mysterious hooded gu— I mean Raider. I just wanted to make sure that at least someone keeps you company. But don't worry. We'll see each other again."

Believe it or not, that made Pyrrha more nervous, considering what he'd do to Weiss.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Pyrrha then walked away before Logan looked toward the picture of his family, as if it was a communicator to his father.

"She doesn't know what she's talking about, Dad. I'll make you proud. I promise."

Then, Mount walked close to him to look at the photo before he pulled the photo away from the Grimm as he spoke angrily.

"What are you looking at, snoopy?"

That made Mount feel bad as he backed up.

"Sorry."

* * *

Later, Raider reappeared back on the ship to see Pyrrha, Logan, and Mount. She walked up to the hooded boy before he asked her.

"Well?"

"Looks like I'm the only one who's going after all. Mount will be going with Logan to Atlas."

As she motioned to them, Mount waved to Raider in joy before she spoke on.

"So, I guess, that just leaves me with you."

"And that's your final answer?"

Pyrrha looked to the two of them before looking back to him, certain that all of the months spent finding him weren't in vain.

"Yes."

"Okay, then. Let's get started."

Then, Raider opened a portal to Atlas with his Armageddon.

"This portal should take you two to Atlas."

Then, Logan and Mount walked closer to it before stopping for a moment and turning to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha?"

"Yes?"

"I hope you find the destiny you're looking for."

Pyrrha was caught off guard at how he remembered her previous views toward destiny before she smiled back.

"Yeah. I hope you do, too."

Then, Logan and Mount walked into the portal before it closed. When Logan and Mount crosses the other side, they found themselves on the grass outside of Schnee Manor. Logan was impressed with Raider's portal powers.

"Wow! That was fast!"

* * *

Later, the boat landed at a docking bay with the bell ringing as countless Faunus left the boat along with Blake, Raider, Pyrrha, and Sun. Turned out, the whole island is filled with Faunus as far as the eye can see. Sun was awestruck with the numbers.

"I've never seen so many Faunus in one place."

Pyrrha could agree with him.

"Neither have I. This is so amazing."

Raider and Blake weren't all that impressed, though, given its history.

"Well, is that really a surprise?"

"This is the one place everyone can feel safe, no matter who or what they are."

"Wow."

Then, the more Sun thought about it, the more uneasy he got.

"Sure is, uh, crowded, huh?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

Later, the group was walking throughout Menagerie as Sun once again voiced his complaint.

"Is it always so... cramped?"

Blake felt the situation to be understandable.

"Well, when you try and take an entire species and put them on an island that's two-thirds desert, yeah, it tends to be cramped."

"What?! You guys have that much space? Why waste it? A little desert never hurt anyone!"

"It's not like the desert in Vacuo, Sun. The wildlife here is more dangerous than most other regions."

Pyrrha tried to decipher what it meant.

"So, basically, they gave you guys a cramped island in the corner of Remnant to try to keep you quiet?"

"That's a pretty good summary, yeah."

Sun wasn't pleased with that as he walked in with them.

"Huh. Jerks."

Blake, considering how the Faunus were bountiful, explained that they weren't as pessimistic as Sun was currently while Raider have out the reality of it.

"We've tried to make the best of things."

"But they're still struggling to keep themselves together, aren't they?"

"Yeah."

Then, the four of them stopped at a hill overlooking not only a lot of homes, but must notably the giant one in the middle.

"Whoa..."

"What place is that, Blake?"

"This, Pyrrha, is Kuo Kuana."

"It's... beautiful. I take it all back. This place looks great! Why would anyone want to leave?"

Raider and Blake felt it was obvious and tried to point it out.

"You know why. Your people asked to be treated as equals, like everyone else. But, thanks to people like one Jacques Schnee, they were just dumped on this island and told to make do. Doesn't that make you angry?"

Sun only shrugged his shoulders before Raider sighed as he facepalmed himself.

"Either way, we did the best we could. We came together and made a home where any Faunus could feel welcome. But this island, this town, will always be a reminder that we're still not equal. That were still second-class citizens."

Sun placed his hand on Blake's shoulder as he spoke to her.

"Well, hey, this guy's feeling pretty at home."

Raider glared at Sun in response, forcing him to let it go.

"This isn't about you, Sun. It's about every single Faunus here. Can't you think about anyone other than yourself for _one minute_?"

Then, Blake sighed before she broke the tension.

"Alright. Time to go home."

Sun grew curious as he put his arm around her and brought her close to him.

"Oh, yeah? Which one's yours? Can you see it from here?"

"Kind of."

Pyrrha and Raider could make a guess, smiling as Sun kept guessing.

"Is it that one? What about that tiny one down there? I like the paint job."

Then, Raider clutched his head before turning it to the one in the middle.

"Actually, Sun... _this_ is where she lives."

Sun then pointed to Blake for reassurance before Blake confirmed it with a nod. His mind blown, Sun squealed lightly before Raider covered his mouth.

"Nope. Not doing that."

* * *

When they reached the mansion, Blake reached her hand for the knocker before she hesitated a moment, catching Pyrrha's notice.

"What's wrong?"

"I, um... it's just been a long time since I've seen my parents."

"Well, we came all this way."

"Yeah, Blake. Sun's right. Why wouldn't they be happy to see you?"

Contrary to Pyrrha and Sun, Raider knows what happened with her childhood before he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Blake. They're your family."

Then, Blake sighed before she tapped the knocker on the door, making a loud bang, causing Sun to jump up a bit.

"Okay, if were being honest, that's kinda intimidating."

Then, the door opened to reveal a woman with cat ears in her head and yellow eyes before she spoke.

"Blake?"

"Hi, Mom."

Taking in this cherished moment, her mother walked over to her and hugged her.

"Oh, my baby girl."

Then, Blake returned the hug as she smiled and closed her eyes just as another voice came.

"Kali, who is it?"

Just then, a tall man in a purple robe with chest hair, a beard, and yellow eyes appeared before noticing Blake and putting on a look of surprise. Then, he smiled in joy and relief, knowing his daughter came back home.

* * *

Later, Kali, Blake, the father, now revealed as Ghira in conversation, Pyrrha, Raider, and Sun sat at the table on their mats while Kali gave their situation to the group.

"We were horrified when we heard the news. The Kingdom of Vale wasn't perfect, but it certainly didn't deserve what happened."

Raider, remembering the snobby jerks he had to put up with for months concerning their views, thought differently.

"Yeah, well, a lot of people have a different take on the matter. I'm glad you're not one of them."

"We were both so worried."

Ghira chuckled a bit in an attempt to disprove the situation.

"Please, I knew she'd be fine!"

Raider, having looked into his life via gazing semblance, knew otherwise.

"That's not what I saw. My gazing semblance told me you were pacing all over the place."

That caught him and Kali by surprise before she started giggling.

"How did you know that?"

"I have this... semblance of mine. It lets me copy other people's semblances. But, that's not the main thing. I mostly use it to look into people's lives to see if they're friend or foe, because these days... who am I supposed to trust?"

Ghira felt a little threatened by what he was meaning.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Raider Serose?"

"I mean no disrespect, sir. But you seem 'White Fang' material to me."

That only made Ghira sigh, not knowing of what he'd been through.

"I wish that were true."

Then, Sun spoke up next.

"You guys have nothing to worry about. I've seen your daughter in action before! And trust me, she's got the moves!"

That, however, made Ghira suspicious of him.

"And what exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Wukong?"

Nervously, he tried explaining himself before Raider interrupted.

"I, uh... well, you see, sir, it's just that..."

"He was meaning to say that your daughter is very efficient in combat. Right, Sun?"

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, that's it! And as a fellow fighter, I have a lot of respect for her."

As he proceeded to explain, Kali moved closer to her daughter.

"Why is he here again?"

"He just kind of followed me home."

Then, Pyrrha spoke up next.

"Yeah. And Raider and I are just a couple of passengers."

"I see..."

"She's definitely above average! I mean, uh..."

Then, Raider clutched his tail, causing him to cringe before Raider spoke to him.

"Okay, Sun. Just stop before you make a bigger fool of yourself."

Then, he let the tail go as Sun cradled it, making Kali whisper to her daughter.

"I like him."

"Mom!"

Then, they heard a loud bang at the door, catching Raider's attention.

"Who's that?"

"Darn it, I completely forgot about the meeting!"

"Ghira..."

"Give me a moment."

Then, as Ghira walked to the door, he felt the need to accompany him as well as he got up and walked with him.

"I'll go with you, sir."

"Thanks, but it won't be necessary, Raider."

"Believe you me, it's completely necessary."

Then, Ghira sighed before he allowed it.

"Alright. Come on."

As the two walked, Kali turned to Blake and the others as her daughter grew curious.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, dear, just poor timing. He can reschedule. It's just been hard dealing with them lately."

"Dealing with who?"

"Mm? The White Fang."

That made Blake, Sun, and Pyrrha stand up in utter shock as they shouted at the exact same time.

"What?!"

* * *

At the door, Raider glared at the two White Fang members while Ghira was confronting them before Blake and the others arrived.

"Dad!"

"Blake, what's wrong?"

The two members bowed to them in reverence.

"Miss Belladonna."

"We had no idea you returned."

"What are you doing talking to these people?"

"This is Corsac and Fennec Albain. They represent the White Fang in Menagerie now."

Sun and Pyrrha weren't thrilled about that.

"Those psychos are here, too?!"

"With friends like these, who needs enemies?"

Corsac tried to ease Sun.

"Children, I'm not sure if what you've heard of our organization, but I can assure you were not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe."

Blake and Raider felt it was blasphemous and needed to get it all out.

"What we've heard?"

"You and the White Fang are a society of murderers! I saw it firsthand myself! _We_ saw it ourselves!"

Ghira wanted to get to the bottom of this.

"What are they talking about?"

"Precisely what we came to discuss with you, your grace."

Then, Kali cane to the door and wanted to know the situation.

"Is everything all right?"

Sun and Raider immediately grew angry at this.

"Wait, you guys seriously don't know?!"

Ghira wanted to know for sure as well.

"Know what?"

Raider didn't hesitate to vent his anger at the giant chieftain as his red eyes flared.

"That you've been supporting the group that killed my family and was responsible for countless innocent losses and releasing the Grimm at the Fall of Beacon!"

Ghira, ignoring his outburst, turned to Corsac and Fennec.

"Is this true?"

"Sadly, your grace, it is."

Raider glared at them next with venom.

"Don't act innocent! YOU ALL KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"That's enough, Raider! Explain yourselves."

"Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under the orders of High Leader Khan. Rather, they've elected to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus. I believe you're all familiar with the young adept and his... extreme philosophies."

Raider snarled at hearing that name as Sun countered their words.

"You know, Beacon wasn't the first time the Fang started shooting up Vale!"

"The High Council has their suspicions of a splinter group, but they could prove nothing until this latest incident."

Raider didn't hesitate to mutter at them in pure hate.

"And that's why I hate the White Fang. You think it was an 'incident?' PEOPLE ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Pyrrha tried holding him back as she held his hand.

"Raider."

"And it is a tragedy."

"Your grace, we came to assume you that Brother Taurus and his followers do not represent the will of White Fang."

Raider knew otherwise as his venom was practically seeping out of his mouth in the form of blood.

"I don't give a dung about the will of the White Fang. In fact, I don't even care if it burns to the ground..."

Pyrrha snapped at him, surprised by his ongoing rage as Ghira went on as normal.

"Raider!"

"And how can we be sure of that?"

"We understand if you bear any skepticism towards these claims. The White Fang's tactics are admittedly more aggressive since you stepped down as High Leader and became Chieftain of Menagerie. But this... this is no way to make our message heard." "We have ample documentation from the council meeting as well as several strategies to apprehend and punish these strays if you'd care to review them."

"I will. But another day. I'd like some time to reconnect with my daughter."

"But of course, your grace."

"We completely understand. It was a pleasure to see you again, young Blake."

"We were saddened when we heard of your departure from the White Fang but understand if you can no longer support our cause."

"It is a wearying fight, after all."

Blake glared at them next before speaking.

"Who says I'm done fighting?"

"Hmm... If you ever do wish to return, you need merely to come find us."

"Sister Illia would be elated."

Then, Ghira stepped up to close the doors.

"Goodbye, gentleman."

When he closed them, Ghira turned to see Raider calming down from his temper as his red eyes returned one of them back to its blue color before he spoke.

"Sorry you had to see that, your highness. I wish we could stay, but we should be going."

Pyrrha turned to Raider in confusion.

"We?"

Then, Raider opened a portal using Armageddon before explaining.

"We've got friends out there all over the place. Maybe a good talk will help ease my nerves. We'll be back soon, though."

Ghira nodded in understanding, seeing as how he used to be that temperamental at a young age.

"Very well. But when you get back... you have some explaining to do."

"Noted."

With that, Raider and Pyrrha walked through the portal before the latter looked back to Blake.

"Be careful out there."

Blake nodded to her before it closed.

"I will."

Then, once the portal dissipated, Blake walked away from the doors before Sun spoke to them.

"So... those guys were creepy."

Ghira looked to him before speaking.

"I really don't like you."

* * *

Outside, Corsac and Fennec spoke to one another as they stepped downward from the steps.

"An interesting development, wouldn't you say?"

"Interesting, Indeed."

"So, shall we inform Brother Adam?"

"We shall."

* * *

The next morning, at an inn, Ruby was in a sleepy daze as he heard Pyrrha's voice.

"Ruby."

When she wouldn't budge, Pyrrha shook her this time.

"Ruby. Wake up."

Then, Ruby slowly opened her eyes to see Pyrrha sitting on the bed next to her as Raider stood by the wall.

"Hey, Ruby."

Ruby grew immediately elated before she hugged her.

"Pyrrha! I can't believe it!"

She giggled quite a lot before she woke everyone else up with her voice.

"Everyone! Wake up! Pyrrha's back!"

That made Jaune wake up with a start before Ren and Nora did.

"What?! You're serious!"

Ruby nodded to him as Pyrrha smiled at them before Ren and Nora spoke up.

"Good to see you again, Pyrrha."

"Yeah, girl! It's good to have you back!"

"Yeah. It's good to _be_ back."

* * *

Out at Shion, Dexus was beholding the majesty of the Tenebris Comet along with about twenty drones. It may seem to an untrained eye that he's ignoring Salem's orders, but in truth, the Tenebris Comet was actually part of his plan to lure Raider. He knew that Raider and all of the Grimm would sense its arrival. What he was concerned about, however, was whether or not it lived up to the legend.

"There it is. The thing of beauty."

Dexus turned to a drone before he gave it an order.

"Bring me two prisoners."

The drone complied as it hummed and brought forth a teenage girl with long, light brown hair and a young man with spiky dark brown hair, their outfits being a custom of Shion village. The two looked up to him with worry in their eyes.

"W-Why are you doing this?"

"We have families!"

"Good to know. Because if it works, the Tenebris Comet will teach them next."

The prisoners grew confused and worried as two black tendrils emerged from the Comet while taking them in and seemingly swallowed them up before they could scream. Inside the Comet, black smoke was inhaled into their lungs, causing them to grow drowsy as their bodies began mutating while they moaned. For example, their hands grew sharper claws while growing horns on their heads. Their skin grew very pale next before they gained red eyes similar to Salem's. Finally, their skin bore black veins on their bodies as they completed their transformation. Once the metamorphosis is complete, the prisoners were released from the Comet and they fell to the ground before they stood up, staring blankly, as if they were in a trance.

"Ah. Interesting form. Now, who is your master?"

Then, the prisoners responded in a zombie-like voice.

"Salem. She is the rightful ruler of Remnant. For we serve the gods of darkness."

Dexus then grew more than pleased with the results as he cackled.

"Excellent! Now, as your first mission, you will find Raider Serose and Pyrrha Nikos, and bring them to me."

The two new soldiers then bowed to Dexus before they spoke.

"As you wish."

With that, they jumped from the farthest tree from the village to another tree as Dexus laughed at the sky, certain that his plan will succeed.

"I hope you're ready, Raider! You won't defy us this time! And neither will Ruby Rose."


	7. Tipping Point

**A/N: In this new chapter, there will be a survivor of the Tenebris Comet's influence in the village (or would-be village) of Oniyuri. His name will be given in the story and will be portrayed by Peter Mensah. BTW, at Atlas, things are gonna be quite surprising for both Weiss and Logan. You'll have to see it for yourself. Ciao, and enjoy! :)**

 **Chapter 6:** "Tipping Point"

At Atlas, out at the lawn of Schnee Manor, Logan was dressed in a black tuxedo while Mount wore his current disguise as he relayed the plan to him.

"Okay, Mount. Here's what we're gonna do. First, I'm gonna offer myself as Weiss's chaperone for the quote-unquote 'charity' event."

"Mm-Hmm."

"Then, while that goes down, you will— you can walk through walls, right?"

"Yup."

"Good. Anyway, you're going to phase through any vault you find until you get the evidence and just skedaddle out of here, leaving absolutely _no trace_. I cannot stress enough how important that part is."

"Mm-Hmm."

"Finally, you will hand the evidence over to me, with which I will turn over to General Ironwood and then, he and his rotten family can kiss their company goodbye! It's foolproof."

Feeling awful about Pyrrha's explanation about Weiss, Mount tried to protest.

"But what about Weiss girl? Where she gonna live?"

Logan, remembering how his father was crushed by a Boulder and Jacques' unnoticed slave labor, has no sympathy whatsoever.

"Look, big guy. If they can buy one giant mansion, I'm sure they can buy another. That's just how the world is, apparently."

Then, Weiss's voice spoke to him in a cold tone.

"And how is the world?"

Then, Lance grew surprised as he muffled his yelp before he turned to see none other than heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss Schnee. Upon seeing her, he began to blush beet red, making her curious before he tried to speak as Mount smiled at him.

"Oh! Uh... i-it's great! Oh, the weather sure is amazing, don't you think?"

Weiss, confused with his sudden change in behavior, just went along with it.

"Okay. Here."

With that, Weiss handed Logan a flyer about Atlas' charity event for the Kingdom of Vale.

"What's that?"

"Uh, it's a flyer. I thought you knew that."

"Oh. Oh, yeah. I totally did."

"Anyway, I'm supposed to be handing those out as invites to people."

Inside his head, Logan tried to work up the nerve to ask her out.

" _Come on, man. Just ask her to be her chaperone. The plan depends on it."_

Weiss noticed his tense look before trying to speak to him.

"Are you okay?"

Then, Logan took a deep breath before he spoke to the girl.

"Yeah. Just had to deal with a bit of stress lately."

Weiss began to think he was trying to flirt and guessed at what he was going to say.

"And what? I'm some sort of stress reliever for you?"

"What? N-no. I wasn't flirting with you, okay? I'm just..."

That gave him an idea. He decided to be open and honest about himself to her while keeping his plan a secret.

"I'm just under this pressure from my dad. He expects everything I do to work out. I mean, who knows what he'd do to me if it didn't?"

That made Weiss frown a little bit from remembering the way her father treated her while coming to the realization that there was someone who could relate to her.

"I know what you mean, believe it or not. But... I don't want to talk about it, though."

Logan was beginning to feel bad for her now before reminding himself to stick with the plan.

"I understand. That said, do you... want me as your chaperone for the night? I figured you might need someone who can relate to whatever you've gone through. We don't have to talk about it. Would that work?"

Then, Weiss gave him a small smile before answering him.

"Okay, sure. My father told me to look for one, anyway. And if I had to choose one, which I did, I'd rather it be you than anyone else. But... don't get any ideas. Promise?"

"Sure. I promise."

"Good."

Then, Weiss took a closer look at his face, getting the case of déjà vu, as if she'd seen him before.

"You look... so familiar."

"I do? Oh, I get that all the time."

"Yeah, but I actually feel like I know you somehow."

"Oh, it's probably déjà vu."

"Maybe. What is your name, by the way."

Logan wasn't thinking as he gave it away before he tried to take it back.

"Logan. Ah! No, wait! It's—"

However, Weiss stopped him with her finger over his mouth.

"Stop. I'm okay with Logan. So relax. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, let's get this over with."

Then, the two of them walked toward the charity event arena as Mount waved to them, giggling.

"Have fun."

Then, Weiss turned back to Mount before asking him.

"Do you know that guy?"

"Yeah. He's my wingman."

Then, Logan looked in the flyer and was surprised by a detail.

"No way! You're actually singing in this one?!"

Weiss sighed in a bit of annoyance at this as they walked.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team RNJR, Pyrrha, and Raider were walking on a road to the next village. Ruby and the team was all caught up on everything Pyrrha went through, prior to their return.

"So, Blake's on Menagerie with Sun?"

Pyrrha nodded to her query before Ruby turned to Raider.

"Yes."

"And she took off because... she just didn't want us to get hurt?"

"That's what I saw from my semblance."

That gave Ruby cause to pump her fist.

"Yes! I knew there was a reason! Take that, Yang!"

Then, upon saying this, she began to get morbid again.

"Oh. Yang..."

Pyrrha felt concerned for Ruby as she usually has a positive attitude. So, seeing her that way was a first for her, even after the Fall of Beacon.

"Are you okay?"

"Why didn't she come with us? She's just as valuable to the team as any of us. Besides, bad things don't just happen. Right?"

Raider noticed her sad look before he spoke to her.

"Well, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. Believe it or not, it happens. Sometimes for a reason, sometimes for no reason. I mean, look at me. I never asked to be part Grimm, yet here I am. But I made the best of it. Point being, bad things can and will happen, but that shouldn't stop us from doing what we have to. You understand?"

Then, Ruby smiled a bit at this before responding.

"I think I do. Thanks."

"I can tell you really miss your sister. But I know she'd miss you too. Your mother would be proud of you, Ruby."

"Huh? You know my mom?"

"It's... complicated."

As they continued walking, Nora was putting on a happy face, which of course no one would blame her for before Ruby turned to Jaune.

"Another day, another adventure!"

"What's on the agenda today?"

"Walking."

Nora tried to liven it up before Ren spoke nonchalantly.

"With a side of..."

"Walking."

Pyrrha and Raider felt confused at the premise of it as Ruby sighed.

"What?"

"But that doesn't make any sense."

"Haven is a lot farther away than I thought. Raider, couldn't we just use your sword to get there?"

"The sword only works for me, and I could only teleport to someone I've either seen in real life or in the flashbacks from the gazing semblance. And so far, I haven't seen anyone going in or out of Haven in general yet, so... no."

Then, Ren spoke to Ruby next.

"Ruby, how long did you think this journey was going to take?"

"I don't know! I grew up in a small area. I've never been this far away from home."

Jaune felt it wasn't a specific answer.

"Right, but how long?"

Ruby tried to come up with a best estimate.

"Maybe like... two weeks?"

Both Raider and Jaune grew surprised, considering how long it actually lasted.

"What?"

"Okay, fine! Three or something! Look... whatever."

Ruby then looked up to notice another abandoned village, though this time, no smoke was present.

"Hey, what's that?"

The rest of the team noticed this before Nora jumped onto a fence and looked upward. Ren and Raider looked up to notice it before Jaune spoke up.

"That's strange. I didn't think we'd be hitting another village in a few days."

"Are those buildings... damaged?"

Raider knew the real answer to that.

"No. They haven't been finished. Still, if there's a chance it's being occupied, we better check it out."

The team nodded before they went into the village and found no one there. When Ruby and the team looked in every nook and cranny, they still didn't see anyone as Nora and Jaune gave a report.

"Nothing over here!"

"No one over here either."

Then, Raider heard a groan from far away before he spoke up.

"Wait. Someone is here."

Raider then went to the source as Pyrrha and Ruby followed him.

"Wait!"

"Come back!"

When Raider got to the source, he found a brown-skinned man with a Grimm arm before he grew surprised and pulled as hard as he could to lift him up and set him on the wall before the stranger woke up and saw the group.

"Huh? Who... are you?"

"It's okay. You're safe."

The stranger coughed a little bit before speaking.

"Thank goodness. I thought I'd be found by him again for sure."

"What happened?"

"All I remember... was a village-wide kidnapping. Then, we were brought to... a comet. And then I became... _this_."

Raider knew it meant one thing.

"The Tenebris Comet."

Ruby, having heard it from him before asked about the meaning of it.

"What's the Tenebris Comet?"

"That, Ruby, is a very dangerous bioweapon, made from the gods of darkness. It's capable of mutating other people into Grimm or making other Grimm more smart, more strong. I was born that way, though, on my father's side. That Comet was Salem's attempt to repeat that."

Ruby then looked toward the stranger before expressing her sympathy.

"I'm so sorry."

"I'll be fine, young Huntress."

The stranger then got up on his own two feet before Ruby asked him about his identity.

"Do you at least know who you are?"

"Of course I do. I am Abraham Travison. Or at least, I was."

"But you're still you, right?"

Abraham sighed before Nora spoke up.

"Hey! I think I found something!"

The group, counting the stranger before Nora moved the grudges away to find the sign.

"Oniyuri. Uh... never heard of it."

Jaune felt it was strange before Raider spoke up.

"Me neither."

"I do. So does Ren. It was meant to be like Anima's mountain Glenn, but it wasn't finished. A long time ago, Mistral's richest people are fed up with the way the Kingdom was being run. So, in their frustration, they pooled their resources together to try to build this place and make their own laws. With all that effort, they hoped it'd be its own kingdom. Many thought it'd be the future. Because your parents did. Right, Ren?"

Ren grew surprised before remembering his gazing semblance and nodded to him as Ruby spoke next.

"What happened?"

"What always happens..."

Then, as Raider wipes the dust away, Abraham spoke up.

"I know of its history as well. In fact, that is why I chose this place. And I know for a fact that it wasn't just any one Grimm."

"One?"

"Yes. It was a nuckelavee. Said to be the horseman of the Tenebris Comet."

At this moment, they heard crows flying away before Jaune made a suggestion.

"Come on. Let's just get through here. This place gives me the creeps."

As the team left, Raider turned to Abraham.

"Are you coming?"

"I'll stay. If any trespassers come here, I'll bring them to their senses."

"Just be careful. They're not just any Grimm. They could be like you."

"I know. Why do you think I plan to stay?"

Then, Raider got the full sense that he's trying to create a safe haven for innocent people that would soon be freed from Salem's control and nodded to him. Ruby, who seemed to get the message as well, waved to him.

"Well, I hope you have good luck."

"In my experience, young Huntsman, there is no such thing."

* * *

At Atlas, Logan had a front row seat to Weiss's performance as her vocals produced the most beautiful sound to his ears.

 _I'm not your pet_

 _Not another thing you own_

 _I was not born guilty of your crimes_

 _Your riches and your influence can't hold me anymore_

 _I won't be possessed_

 _Burdened by a royal test_

 _I will not surrender, this life is mine!_

Awestruck by her performance, Logan wholeheartedly clapped for her while shedding small tears before quickly wiping them away.

" _Keep it together, Logan. Stick to the plan."_

Then, Weiss looked up to see her father smiling as Whitley lightly clapped for her. Logan looked to her direction and saw them as he glared at them before looking back to Weiss who showed a look of sadness before walking away. Feeling struck with guilt, one wave at a time, he spoke to himself.

"You better pull it off, Mount."

* * *

At the manor, Mount was sneaking into the walls, peeking out at every room. When he looked through the kitchen, he didn't find anything and went on.

"Nope."

Then, he looked at the room with the two-headed snake in one of its mouths before he spoke.

"Nope."

Then, finally, he found a vault in his office before passing through the vault and getting the evidence. When he tried pulling it, though, it wouldn't go through.

"Come on!"

Then, he remembered what he could do to other objects as well before he had an idea.

"Oh. Right."

Then, Mount turned it as transparent as his hand before successfully pulling it out and laughing as he'd been successful.

"Got it."

* * *

Later, Logan was walking into the manor with Weiss before looking to her.

"I thought you sounded so beautiful, Weiss."

"Well, thanks. But... that's not what my dad thought."

Logan's face frowned at the mention of it.

"Oh. Him."

"You know I didn't even want to sing. He just... forced me to do it."

"Well... even if it was forced, I still think your voice was amazing."

Weiss took comfort knowing that he liked it better than her father did. As if she needed his validation anyway. So, she smiled as Weiss replied.

"Thanks, Logan."

Then, Logan and Weiss heard her father's voice before they looked to him.

"Weiss! Come over here and bring your chaperone, please!"

"Well, duty calls."

"Well, Weiss, at least you won't have to suffer alone."

That earned a light giggle from Weiss as they walked to him. When they got close to him, he decided to get acquainted.

"Ah, there you are. So, you're my daughter's chaperone, are you?"

Normally, Logan wouldn't suck up to him, but he needed the plan to work, if not Weiss being more comfortable so he had to do it.

"Why, yes, I am, sir."

As he took a glance, Jacques couldn't deny that he was familiar.

"Odd."

"What, sir?"

"I can't help but feel that I know you from somewhere."

"Really? Well, your daughter said the same thing."

"Did she now? Well, then. Come on in."

"Uh, thank you, sir."

* * *

Outside, Mount phases through a wall and realized his height before tapping his foot on the air and falling into a bush. When he popped back up, he was relieved to the evidence was still intact.

"Phew."

* * *

At the manor, Weiss and Logan stood by Jacques as he gave false facts.

"That's precisely my point. We offer Faunus the exact same wages given to the rest of our mining staff. Their argument's completely invalid right off the gate."

Logan grumbled, knowing for a fact that it was a load of garbage before a businessman spoke up.

"Well, I think the bigger issue here is our society as a whole."

"What? You mean Atlas?"

"Atlas, Mantle, you can't deny the economic disparity between the two."

As they talked, Logan noticed Weiss looking at a picture of Vale before he did the same as the businesswoman spoke next.

"I mean, what exactly are you suggesting?"

As Weiss tried to leave, Jacques caught her arm before he asked her in a whisper.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm... just a little thirsty."

"Sweetheart, we have people for that."

Then, Logan spoke up.

"I can go with her to get a drink. I'll even get one for you, too, sir."

Jacques was beginning to consider the offer as the businesspeople spoke onward.

"Look, no one asked them to move here."

"But companies like the SDC promised jobs!"

Then, he nodded to the two before Logan and Weiss acknowledged it and went along before Jacques got down to "business."

"I'm sorry, I tuned out for a second, but... sounds like I'm the good guy again?"

Then, he laughed with them as Logan grumbled even more.

"You seem like the other way around to me."

Then, Weiss and Logan stopped at the painting of Vale with a plaque that said, "show the world we care." As they looked at it, Logan spoke to Weiss.

"You know, I used to live there."

"In Vale?"

"Yep. We had to move there when my mom got a job. She's practically working herself to death just to pay for my tuition. Believe me, she would know what you've gone through."

Weiss found it oddly funny as she giggled at this before he spoke onward.

"Anyway, every day I come home... I give her the biggest hug that I could to let her know that everything she did for me... it wasn't all for nothing."

Weiss felt saddened about his experiences before she apologized for what she had to do.

"I'm sorry she had to suffer so much, Logan."

"It's alright, though, Weiss. Because to her, it wasn't the money or profits or any of that that made the world go round. It was love."

"Wow. I wish something like that would happen to me. You see, my dad..."

"I know. A friend of mine told me. I didn't want to believe that at first, but... she was right. You're nothing at all like your father. You're better than him. If he can't see that, then he's missing out."

Then, another voice spoke to them.

"It's beautiful."

Logan turned to see a boy in a fancy red suit.

"Huh?"

"You two match."

"Well, thank you."

"I was talking about her and the painting."

Logan then grew offended, but kept his temper in.

"Hey. But... you are right though. The painting is amazing. What's your name?"

"Henry. Marigold. So... that was my attempt at breaking the ice... how am I doing so far?"

Logan gave his notes as Weiss ignored him.

"Well, that's a good thing to say, but you gotta leave some room for detail. Otherwise, they won't know who you're talking about. Trust me, I know. I just thought you meant the two of us just now."

"Well, I've always appreciated honesty."

"Good for you, my man. So, I'm guessing you know my chaperone?"

Weiss's eyes widened at this before she tried to talk her way out of this.

"No, Logan..."

"Of course, I do. I saw her performance, obviously..."

Logan can agree to that at least.

"I know. Wasn't she amazing, though? And I'm telling you, I'm not just saying that because she's pretty. She's her own person."

Then, Henry looked at the picture before turning to Logan.

"So... you thinking about buying it?"

"Kind of. Not that I'm a collector or anything. At least this way, a piece of history would stay where we can always remember it. At least, that's what my mother always said."

As he spoke on, Weiss felt drawn to Logan's standards and the way he viewed things before Henry spoke on.

"Yeah. Kind of pricey for a painting, though, isn't it?"

"Wasn't that the point? The charity is to raise money. It's not like some fancy garage sale, you know."

"Oh, really? For what?"

Weiss felt offended by that as she and Logan spoke.

"For what?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll admit, I only come to these things for the food and drinks. And the extraordinary company, of course. So what? Is it another Mantle fundraiser or something?"

That made Logan as mad as Weiss but Logan beat her to the request.

"Actually, I'll just explain it to you since you're new to caring about anything else, this is actually a fundraiser for Vale."

"Oh. Sorry. I heard about the Fall of Beacon. I mean, it wasn't perfect, but... it still didn't need to go down like that."

"Well, I guess you're learning fast, huh? So, we'd like to stay and chat some more, but Weiss and I would like a moment of peace, if you would."

"Okay. I understand."

Then, as Henry walked away, Logan turned to Weiss who spotted a look of surprise.

"What?"

"How can you have that kind of patience for someone who doesn't even care about why he's here? It just... boggles me."

"Well, I'm trying not to be repetitive in life lessons, but my mom always told me that people who don't even care just need a reason. If that doesn't work, then it's their problem."

That made Weiss think about her future if she could just change the company for the better. When she would have kids of her own, she would teach them those values that Logan lives by. Coincidentally, she held her hand over Logan's, neither of them noticing.

"Words to live by, huh?"

"Yeah."

Far away, they suddenly heard a woman's voice speaking negatively.

"But really, does it come as any surprise what happened to Vale?"

At that, Weiss and Logan heard her voice badmouthing Vale.

"It was a long time coming, if you ask me."

Logan grumbled even worse as the husband tried to change her mind.

"Honey."

"What? You said the same thing last night. If they're so arrogant to get by without proper kingdom defense, then I say good riddance."

Then, Logan spoke to the woman as he put his finger over her mouth.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. How about _you_ just shut your fancy mouth, okay?"

"Excuse me?"

"People, let alone kingdoms, can learn from their mistakes. That's why the fundraiser is here in the first place: to help them do that. So I believe you owe this charity an apology."

"Now, why would I apologize for saying something that's true? Especially to a low class farmer boy who doesn't have any business being here."

"Farmer boy?!"

As Logan was about to counter, Weiss interrupted him and spoke the loudest.

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone turned to Weiss in surprise, even Logan as he'd never heard her shout in general. Jacques tried to calm her down from afar.

"Weiss."

Then, she continued speaking the truth. As a matter of fact, she preached it.

"You don't have a clue! None of you do! And Logan is the only one here who does! You're all just standing around talking about nothing! Worrying about your hair, your money... your stupid problems that don't mean anything!"

Logan was surprised that Weiss said all of those things, considering how she lived.

"Wow. Didn't think I'd hear her say that."

At the same time, Jacques tried to stop it from getting worse.

"Weiss, that's enough!"

As he clutched her arm, Logan tried to help.

"Let go of me!"

"You're embarrassing the family!"

"I said let go!"

Right when she got her arm free, she fell into Logan's arms before he heard a sound behind them. Sure enough, to his surprise, he saw a white portal with a white Warthog with blue tattoos which took off toward the woman.

"What the heck?!"

"Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just leave me alone!"

Then, before it could attack her, Mount jumped on it before holding it up and breaking it in two, turning it into white mists before Logan and Weiss saw him.

"Mount? How'd you get here?"

"Uh... in the neighborhood?"

Then, the woman turned to General Ironwood before she shouted to him.

"Arrest her! What are you waiting for? She's insane! She should be locked up!"

Logan, usually a man of patience, was running out of it very fast, but he was t gonna take it out on anyone: in fact, he decided to use that as a shield as he stood in the way.

"If you're gonna arrest her, you'll have to throw me in, too."

The woman could honestly care less about it as she spoke on.

"Well, go ahead!"

However, that wasn't on Ironwood's agenda.

"She's the only one making sense around here."

Then, he turned to Jacques.

"Thanks for the party, Jacques."

Then, he walked away before Jacques glared at Logan.

"I think you can be excused to leave, boy."

Logan began to fear for what could happen to Weiss more than ever as he tried to protest.

"What? But, sir—"

"I said you're excused. Now leave."

Logan growled at Jacques before he took a deep breath before he had to walk out. However, what neither father nor daughter suspected was that he had a plan as Logan's head glowed with an eye symbol in his head before he spoke to Weiss telepathically, getting her attention.

" _Don't worry, Weiss. I'll be back for you. I promise."_

Weiss, surprised by his semblance for a few moments, replied back telepathically as she was filled with hope.

" _Please do. I don't know what's going to happen now."_

Then, Jacques turned to Mount.

"Do you happen to have a job?"

"Huh?"

* * *

Outside, moments later, Logan drew an exhale as if he'd been working out.

"Well... that night was a disaster. First, no one in the charity cares about Vale, and now Weiss is in trouble. I don't know why, but... I'm scared for her. I don't know how it can get any worse."

Then, Mount ran to Logan in joy before hugging him.

"I got good news!"

"Okay, I take it back... it can get worse..."

Then, Mount let him go before he explained.

"Mount got new job. As security guard."

"Mount, I don't care if you—"

Then, he began to see what he meant by good news.

"Wait. Mount, you're a genius!"

"I am?"

"Yeah! By being a security guard, you can find a backdoor to this mansion and then I can get Weiss out of this mess! Way to think ahead, wingman!"

Mount chuckled at his apparent brilliance before returning to normal.

"Yeah. What?"

Then, Logan got out his family photo before looking at Weiss's window.

"You told me to help those in need, Dad. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

Then, Mount cleared his throat before speaking.

"I got the evidence, too."

"What?"

Then, as he looked at the envelope and opened it, he found photos of enslaved Faunus with practically no pay or health. Then, he looked back to Weiss.

"Great. Now that I have the evidence, I can avenge my dad. But... do I want to, though? If I do turn it in, what'll happen to Weiss?"

Mount nodded to him as to his reasons being repeated.

"Right?"

"You don't have to agree so quickly."

Then, he sat down on the bench before he sighed.

"What am I gonna do?"

* * *

Meanwhile, at Oniyuri, Team RNJR, with the addition of Pyrrha and Raider, were having no luck finding a way out before Ren stopped them and listened for rustling in the trees from far away before the group got their weapons ready as they grew closer. Then, Raider knew they were coming from above before he jumped up toward their direction and caught the two transformed prisoners and pinned them to the ground with his hands, seeing their completely altered state as they laid unconscious due to the force of the impact from Raider's attack. Ruby and Raider were the most petrified of all.

"What are they?!"

"They're... hybrids! The Comet must've gotten to them."

Then, Dexus spoke to them from behind.

"It's about time your spoiled, minuscule brain figured it all out."

Raider looked behind him to see Dexus smiling at him.

"Dexus!"

"But your friend is most certainly right though, Ruby. This meaningless village has no value to me, to anyone in Remnant. Go figure I'd find you here."

Ruby then spoke to Dexus tensely.

"What do you want?"

"What do _you_ think? It's been miserable seeking out Haven Academy, but do you want to know what I really care about? It's the Grimm Huntsman known as Raider Serose!"

Ruby looked to him in confusion and worry as Raider growled at him.

"A Grimm hybrid capable of copying others' semblance's; the most powerful in Remnant! You have no idea how long I've waited to reestablish Salem's dominance!"

Ren spoke to him next before Dexus made his point clear by pointing at the prisoners.

"Then why didn't you leave these people alone?!"

"You think I want Salem's finest soldier to look like _this_?! A mind controlled soul with no sense of decency in finishing the job?! Of course not. Which is why these villagers were my first test subjects!"

Raider turned to the villagers before turning to Dexus.

"So it was you. You captured the whole village and sent them to the Comet!"

"How does it feel meeting people who are just like you? Go on. Answer me."

Raider tensed his Grimm hand in anger.

"You sorry sack of..."

"Oh, and there's one more thing I forgot to mention to you fools! I'm also here, because a few short hours from here, Salem and Cinder will make their personal appearance face-to-face! And they want to see you, Ruby Rose."

As he pointed to her, Ruby was getting worried about what Salem wanted with her.

"What? Me?"

"Yes. Remember the Fall of Beacon when Raider retaliated with the white light? Rumor has it, you're just as capable as he is and all because of your mother, Summer Rose!"

Having not demonstrated the ability, Ruby grew surprised at the possibility.

"What?!"

"That's right. And with you by our side, our reign on Mistral, or any kingdom, will go completely uncontested. So... you'll be coming with me."

Nora stepped up beside Ruby alongside Pyrrha and Raider.

"What if she doesn't _want_ to go with you?"

Dexus smiled with malice before answering.

"Well... that's not her choice."

Jaune stepped up for her next.

"We're not going to let you do that."

"Too bad."

Then, Dexus's eyes flared red before his whole body went dark as they grew worried, unaware that another Dexus went behind Jaune. However, Ren noticed this before he shouted.

"Jaune!"

Then, he shot at Dexus' copy, who phased through the bullets before disappearing, allowing the real one to shove Jaune and Ren away before Ruby moved in to attack Dexus who shoved her away with a kick to her scythe, forcing her to stop her flying by planting it to the ground. Then, Dexus moved in towards Nora with a growl while Ruby prepared a Dust cartridge of lightning before firing it, nearly grazing Dexus's face before hitting Nora by mistake. Then, Dexus grew surprised before turning to her and smiling.

"Well. I didn't think the comet's effect would be airborne. Or was that just a mistake?"

To his curiosity, she smiled too.

"Actually... neither."

Then, Dexus heard the crackle of lightning behind him as Nora stood up and smiled before taking off toward him and seemingly striking him with Magnhild. However, Dexus was seen to be blocking it with a black aura over his hand.

"Was that your best shot, girl? Let me show you mine!"

Then, Dexus clutched it greatly before shocking Nora away with black lightning, causing her to fall to the floor before Ruby and Raider moved in to attack him, only for him to turn dark with red eyes again as they didn't succeed in hitting him before he fired shockwaves from both hands. However, he was only able to shatter Ruby's Aura before he moved in toward her, his dark purple orb at the ready.

"Ladies first."

As he fired it, there was a crack from the wall before Qrow came in and blocked it with his sword, surprising friend and foe.

"You!"

Ruby looked up to him in surprise before she smiled and he returned the favor as Raider spoke.

"What took you so long?"

"Hey."


	8. Payback

**A/N: Hello. Just to let you know so that you don't get worried, I noticed that I am behind on my story for Voltron as well, and for those of you who know Legendary Defender and anticipating Season 7, I made a goal to get Season 2 done before number 7 is released in six days. So, I will be working on Voltron until then. After which, I will continue making this story, so please be patient. Until then, enjoy. By the by, Neo will pop up somewhere in this chapter and be voiced by Jeannie Tirado, best known in my opinion for her voice as Android 21 in DRagon Ball FighterZ, a game of which I own. Also, and more importantly, I found out Volume 6 will come out October 27th! So, if you are not a Rooster Teeth member yet, please join if you wish to see Chapter 1 of it on that day. I for one just can't wait. :)**

 **Chapter 7:** "Payback"

In Atlas, Logan was pacing back and forth out in the yard, trying to decide what to do as Mount watched him. He also noticed a trail that Logan made upon pacing.

"You're hurting grass."

"Well, can you blame me?! I was so sure about what I wanted to do when I got here. But now that I found out Pyrrha was right this whole time, I have to consider Weiss' feelings or whatever! But which one is more important to me? Is it avenging my dad? Or helping Weiss? Dad. Weiss. Dad! Weiss! AGH! Why does it have to be so hard to make a simple decision?!"

As Logan stomped his foot on the ground, he panted his breath, trying to calm himself down as he realized what he had just said. He came here seeking retribution, but instead, he got something more important to consider: the life of another, in spite of it being from an enemy's family.

"Whoa. Pyrrha _was_ right. There _is_ more to life than revenge."

Logan turned to Mount before speaking to him.

"Mount?"

"Yup?"

"Weiss is in trouble, and I have to fix this for her. Can you help me?"

Later, two guards were out by the doors before Mount brought him over to them.

"Hey. Found this trespasser, uh... loitering."

The guards looked to one another before one of them spoke to Mount.

"Well, just eject him off the premises."

Then, Logan spoke to the guards next as his forehead glowed with a eye symbol on it.

"Look into my eye."

Immediately, the guards fell in a trance as Logan spoke onward.

"You are in my power, now. When I snap my fingers, you will act like chickens until I snap my fingers again, in which you will have no memory of acting like a chicken."

With that, he snapped his fingers, turning them into chickens as the guards clucked and began pecking the ground, using their arms as their wings. That caused Mount s great uproar of laughter before he got in on it, too.

"Bawk bawk! Bawk bawk!"

"Mount, you're not the chicken, remember?"

"I know. But this very funny!"

As Mount laughed outside, Logan facepalmed himself before speaking to him as he clutched his collar.

"Look, if this is going to work, you have to be quiet, or it's all over, okay?"

"Okay. How you do that, anyway?"

"I don't know. It's just always been a semblance of mine. Now blend in."

Then, Logan snuck into the manor before Mount tucked his arms in and pecked the ground to blend in.

"Bawk, bawk. Bawk, bawk."

In the manor, Logan was sneaking by the walls as he heard footsteps approaching. Fortunately, those footsteps came from Klein as he emerged from the corner before Logan tiptoed behind him while Klein looked back to find no one there as he grew suspicious.

* * *

In her room, Weiss was being scolded by her father after what happened at the charity event.

"Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. Do you have any idea what your stunt cost us?"

"I—"

"And don't think I'm just talking about Lien here! Our reputation! Our... our..."

In his temper, he sighed exasperatedly before Weiss made a complaint of her own.

"I want to leave."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said, I want to leave. I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't want to stay in Atlas anymore!"

In his temper, Jacques retaliated back in anger.

"Believe it or not, young lady, I don't care what you want! This isn't about you. This is about the Schnee family name and your apparent insistence on dragging it through the mud!"

"I have done nothing but fight to uphold the honor of my family name, a name that you married into!"

His nerve being struck, Jacques swiftly struck her face with a slap, hitting her where the scar was formed previously as she cried out, exacerbating it as Blood spilled out slowly. Weiss looked at him in shock over what he did, but his stone cold heart gave no pity.

"This behavior of yours is incredibly disappointing. You couldn't possibly understand the lengths I've gone to in order to keep this family where it is. If you think running off like your sister is going to make the Schnee name stronger, you're wrong. Siding with her only divides us."

"I'm not siding with anyone. I'm doing what I feel is right, and that does not include wasting my time up here with these clueless people in Atlas. The Schnee family legacy isn't yours to leave. It's mine. And I'll do it as a Huntress."

"No... you won't. You're not leaving Atlas. You're not to leave the manor grounds unless I specifically allow it. You are going to remain here, out of sight and out of trouble, until you and I come to an agreement on your future."

"What?!"

"Your presupposition that you can simply have whatever it is you want is a clear sign of our failure as parents. But from now on, I'll be giving you the full attention you require, starting by keeping you where I can see you."

As he began to walk off, Weiss tried to counter with the cons of doing as he proposed.

"You can't just keep me from leaving!"

"I can, and the staff here will make sure of it."

"So now I'm just your prisoner?!"

"You are my daughter. You're a child, and children are grounded when they misbehave."

"This is only going to make things worse, Father. People will ask questions! They'll want to know why the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company is suddenly nowhere to be found!"

"Which is why you are no longer the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

That made Weiss all the more surprised and taken aback before she spoke up.

"Excuse me?"

"Clearly, the trauma you endured at the Fall of Beacon was too much for you. Which is why you've generously revoked your claim to the company and its earnings and passed them on to your brother Whitley. It's time to wake up and face reality."

As he walked out of the door, Weiss noticed Whitley outside of the door and began to get suspicious about what his true intentions were to begin with. So, she worked up the nerve to confront him before speaking to him just as Logan hid behind the corner and overheard the whole thing.

"Whitley!"

"Yes, sister?"

"Did you know about this?"

"About what?"

"You never liked Winter. You never liked me. But you've been nothing but supportive since the moment I came back."

"If being kind to my sister is some sort of crime, then I suppose I'm guilty."

Then, Weiss pieced the whole thing together and found out that he'd deliberately set her up to take the company for himself.

"You wanted this to happen."

At this point, Whitley showed his true colors as he put on a scowl.

"It's foolish not to do as Father asks."

Weiss grew saddened to have her opportunity to better the company taken away from her. Now, thanks to Whitley, her chance is gone.

"I can't believe you."

"Don't worry, Weiss. The Schnee family name is in good hands."

As he walked off, Logan could see the villainous smile coming from him, having been fortunate enough not to get caught as Logan glared at him.

" _I can't believe it. Whitley's just as bad as his dad, maybe even worse! Here I thought he was a chill dude this whole time! This isn't just about Weiss anymore. This is about the whole dang company!"_

After a while, he peeked out of a corner, only to bump into Klein's vest as he muffled his yelp. He immediately got in his offensive position.

"Stand back, butler man. I'm not gonna let you stop me from getting Weiss out of here."

At that moment, Klein recognized the lad, considering what he did for her at the event.

"Aha! I knew someone was here. You're the lad that stood up for her."

"Yeah, I am. So like I said—"

"I'm not going to stop you, my boy. In fact, I'll help you."

Logan grew surprised at his offer to help.

"What the what now? You're not gonna report me?"

"Oh, no. I was going to quit."

"Huh. Well, good for you."

Then, Logan heard muffled crying from the other side of her door before he looked to Klein.

"You're sure you'll keep this airtight?"

"I will. Go to her."

Logan nodded to the humble butler before he stopped at her door before he lightly knocked, getting her attention before Weiss tried to urge herself to stop crying to speak as clearly as she could.

"C-Come in."

To her surprise, she saw Logan coming through the door before he tried to speak to her.

"Hey, Weiss."

Considering his timing, she just grew angry and slapped him on the face.

"Ow!"

"Why didn't you get here sooner?! Do you have any idea what just happened to me?!"

"I heard. Whitley staged the whole thing so that he can take the company."

Then, Weiss buried herself in his chest while banging her fists out at him to take out all the disappointment on him. Nevertheless, he stayed.

"Why weren't you there?! You could've stuck your neck out for me like before! Then, I could've changed the company and made it better! Why weren't you there?!"

As Weiss started weeping on him, Logan took a deep sigh before he spoke to her and put his hands on her arms.

"Listen. I have something to tell you. And it's extremely important."

With that, Logan took out the envelope and handed it to her before she opened it up and saw countless Faunus working in the mines with no pay or refreshment benefits. With that, she grew surprised. A photo of that is strictly prohibited.

"B-But how did you...?"

"I didn't. My dad did. He saw what he was doing to the Faunus and tried to stop it from happening, but... then there was this landslide and... he didn't make it out."

"How does that explain why you weren't there?"

"When I got to Atlas, I wanted to shut it down for good, to avenge my dad. But then came you. So, when I found out you're not like your dad, I... I was trying to decide whether or not I should do it. And then, after a lot of pacing, I made a decision."

"You chose me... over your own father."

"No. I chose you over revenge. Truth is, ever since the funeral, I hated your father in one way. Like how you hated me just now."

"What? I didn't-"

"But when I found out the truth... I wanted him to suffer. Shutting the company down was the safest bet to do it legally. And I was just plain wrong. My father wanted to show that evidence to help people. But... if it comes down to you and shutting down the company... then I choose you. I always will. You can keep beating me all you want, but no matter what, I will always choose you."

At that moment, Weiss realized what she was becoming as she reflected on what she was just doing to him and what she did it for. Now that she knew he was going through his own emotional roller coaster, she began to regret everything she'd said and done to him, even if it was only for a moment. Then, she remembered him being at the funeral, doing what she just did to Logan to her father. Upon coming to this realization, she knew who he was.

"Now I know."

"Huh."

"You're the boy who kept hitting my dad, back at the funeral. I'm really sorry for what he did to you."

"I know you are. But you're not the one who should be apologizing. You have every right to be angry. I should've gotten here faster."

Then, Weiss also got to thinking about what she could do, which was nothing at the moment. Now that her plans for the future are trashed, the company might as well be, too.

"Go ahead."

"What?"

"Show the evidence to Ironwood."

"What? But, Weiss, what about your plan?"

"The plan is dead, Logan. I can't do anything anymore..."

As he looked back at the evidence, he began to get a different idea. It may be the dirtiest move he could've pulled, but if it meant getting things back in order for her, it will be worth it.

"You're wrong."

"Huh?"

"You're not done yet. Because you're getting this company back, whether your dad likes it or not."

* * *

At the farmhouse, Oscar was at his bed reading a book as his aunt called to him.

"Oscar, your supper is ready!"

"What are we having?"

"Doesn't matter! You're eating it!"

"I never agreed to these terms!"

"It's part of the living under my roof contract! Read the fine print and come wash up!"

Then, he got up from the bed and started walking before Ozpin's voice spoke to him.

"We have to leave."

He ignored the voice as he continued walking to the door.

"Oscar. Oscar."

Then, when his hand was within reach, it stopped before he spoke back.

"I decided you're not real, so you can just give up."

"I understand how you're feeling. I went through the same panic and confusion."

Then, Oscar went to the shelf to put the books away before he tried to convince himself.

"It's not real. It's not real. It's not real."

"I can assure you, you're perfectly sane."

"I'm talking to a voice in my head."

"I didn't say you were normal I said you were sane. There's quite a significant difference between—"

"Shut up! You think this is funny? It's not."

"We are in complete agreement on that matter, I promise you. Believe me, I wish this weren't the case. But as I've told you, our Aura, our souls, are combined."

"I'm done listening to you."

Then, Ozpin thought of something to try to prove his point to Oscar.

"Have you ever been to Haven?"

"I told you I'm not going, and I told you I'm done listening."

"Do you think you can describe the headmaster's office?"

"No. Why would I know that? I've never seen—"

"Try. Right now."

Sighing in defeat, Oscar went along with it to get through this.

"It's probably... it's... it's autumn-colored... with a large mahogany desk. There's a small table and chairs in the corner for guests, with a tea set that... I... I gave him."

Stunted by his newfound knowledge, he began to panic.

"Why did I say that? Why do I know that? Why did o say that?"

"Because I helped build that school, and the tea set was a gift to the man running it now."

Oscar then sat down on the bed and clutched his head before Ozpin spoke again.

"If you don't believe me, you can look it up. If I recall, your aunt has several books on Mistral downstairs. I'm certain you could find a picture in one of them."

"That... that's right. I must've seen it in a picture."

"Oscar..."

"Stop talking to me!"

"I have a grave responsibility to uphold. We both do..."

Oscar then knelt down to the ground before he spoke in solemnity.

"I never agreed to anything..."

"No, you didn't. And neither did I, at first. But you do have an opportunity."

"For what?"

"Greatness, hopefully. Greatness in knowing that when the world needed help, you were the one to reach out your hand. It won't come without hardship, without sacrifice, but I know you don't want to live the rest of your life working as a farmhand in Mistral."

"Do you just decided to read my thoughts?"

"I... well... they're our thoughts now."

Then, Oscar grunted at the ridiculousness of this whole prospect as he shouted one more time.

"Get out of my head!"

Then, his aunt called out to him from below.

"Oscar! Supper time! I better see clean hands!"

Oscar looked to the door before he looked back down to the floor.

* * *

Back at Schnee Manor, Jacques was in his office, trying to wrap his mind about what he considered to be his daughter's arrogance before the doors slammed open, revealing Logan and Weiss as his voice barked at him.

"HOW COULD YOU?!"

Jacques had had enough mutiny for one day. He certainly wasn't going to give it more attention.

"Young man, I thought I excused you to leave."

"You don't get to tell me when I can leave or not. You're not my father, and you never will be."

At that moment, he began to realize who he was as he remembered his angry cries and shouts toward his "efforts" to save him.

"Now I remember you. You're that arrogant little boy who wouldn't stop blaming me for your father's death. Truth is, he dug his own grave. You might as well be digging yours."

"That's exactly what I'd say to you."

Then, he chucked the evidence over to Jacques's table as he grew admittedly worried.

"What is that?"

"You should know what it is. That's the evidence my father took before the landslide."

Jacques grew worried, thinking about the possibility that he was robbed before unlocking the vault and finding nothing inside before he growled at him.

"It seems I need to update security. Speaking of..."

He then proceeded to push the button before he spoke.

"Security, remove the chaperone and my daughter from my office, immediately."

However, there was no response before he tried again.

"Security! Don't keep me waiting!"

Then, Logan spoke to him.

"About that... security's a little occupied at the moment."

Then, Jacques looked at all of the feeds on the computer before he saw that they were all acting like chickens. He then growled at Logan.

"You arrogant child. If you truly care about my daughter—"

Then, it was Weiss's turn to retaliate as she grazed his cheek with her Myrtenaster, forcing him to hold his tongue.

"This evidence is the whole reason he's doing this for me, Jacques!"

Jacques heard her call him by his first name before he grew stunted as she spoke onwards.

"He knew how much I wanted to uphold the honor of my family name that you disgraced. You took that opportunity away from me. So now... I don't care about the company anymore. And I'm not afraid to see it burn."

"Just like I'm not afraid to pull the trigger and shoot it dead."

"You wouldn't dare..."

"Oh, yeah? Try us."

Jacques began to be frightened at their resolve. If not for his life, then for his company should the evidence be presented. Then, he realized a flaw in their plan before he began to laugh boisterously.

"Oh, you mad fool! You're not going to destroy this company. If that was your plan, it would've happened already. So tell me... what do you really want?"

Logan smiled at his apparent detective skills.

"So, you've figured it out, huh? Well, for starters, you're going to give the company and its earnings back to Weiss."

"And why would I do that?"

"I figured you'd ask. Why don't you let Whitley tell you himself?"

Just then, Whitley walked into the office smiling wickedly before Logan asked him a question.

"Alright, Whitley. Tell him the truth. Do you really care about your father?"

Then, he spoke with a villainous tone.

"Of course not. He's nothing more than an obstacle. When Weiss left for Beacon, I've been planning to usurp Weiss, which of course, I succeeded. With her out of the way, I was going to stage a little 'accident' for him."

Hearing this, Jacques grew petrified as he spoke on.

"After that, the company will belong to _me_ , and _me alone_. _"_

Hearing this statement, Jacques grew very angry at him.

"How dare you?! Do you think you can take over my company and get away with it?!"

Then, Logan spoke to him next.

"Why not? That's what you did to her grandfather, isn't it? You offered yourself to be a perfect replacement for him, but he kept saying no. So, even though he was already sick, you wanted to get rid of him. And you did. After that, you got the position. So, Whitley thought he'd do the same to you. Like father, like son."

Jacques was now beginning to know what Weiss meant by restoring its honor. Of course, that didn't change him, but he's now beginning to consider the proposal.

"Alright, fine. Weiss, the company and its earnings are now returned to your care as heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

Then, Logan spoke of the second agreement.

"And there's one more thing. You're going to let her leave Atlas and become a Huntress."

"What?! And how is the company supposed to be cared for, then?!"

"Simple. Because it's officially going to join with Atlas Academy. That way, both sides, profit and otherwise, will be taken care of."

"And who, dare I ask, will be in charge while she's away?"

"Klein was going to quit you. So, when that happens, he'll be more than happy to look over things at the SDC with Ironwood."

Jacques was beginning to lose his temper before he shouted at them.

"I will not tolerate this mutiny!"

Logan was still adamant on their terms.

"Then you can kiss your company goodbye. Either you agree to it, or your company will go six feet under. That is the deal."

Jacques began growling in anger before he calmed himself with an exasperated sigh.

"Fine. Weiss has my permission to leave Atlas. However... when you do come back... don't expect me to be here."

"Funny you should say that. The final part of the agreement is that you and Whitley leave this company and never come back. When they start asking questions, we'll tell them that he's decided to turn his back on the company because he only cared about himself."

Jacques took another round of yelling at him, doing nothing to dissuade Logan.

"You madman! You can't do that to me! It'll only make this worse! The Schnee family name belongs to me!"

"Oh, really? So you do only care about yourself. And hear I thought you cared about the company. Oh, well..."

Faced with this ultimatum, he widened his eyes before he gritted his teeth and spoke to him.

"You mad genius... fine. My son and I will leave the company for good. But... I'll be the one to deliver a statement, ignoring our... disagreement."

"Sure. Just as long as you admit that you killed my father to all of Atlas. To all of Remnant."

"What?! That is absurd, young man! I'll never do it!"

"Well, then, have fun trying to find a new job. But hey, you did build the company up from nothing, right? Oh, wait. No, you didn't. You stole it. I should be saying have fun being penniless, because that's what you out of all people deserve."

Then, Logan took the evidence back from the table before he and Weiss walked out of the office as Jacques tried to gain his advantage back one last time.

"You haven't won this! I'll see to it that you're never seen in Atlas again!"

When they continued walking out, Jacques was rapidly learning his place and on the brink of the collapse of his company before he finally submitted.

"Okay, fine! I get it! I can't set foot in this company anymore! But I'll never forgive you if our company goes under! My soul will haunt you for all eternity!"

Then, Weiss turned back to her father with a glare.

"Just shut your mustache already."

The now powerless CEO widened his eyes before Logan spoke.

"In that case..."

Then, Logan tossed it back to him before he spoke.

"You can tear up the evidence of you want, but you still have to tell the truth. If you don't agree with any of our terms, all bets are off. It's nothing personal, Jacques. It's just business."

Then, they fully walked out of the room before Jacques placed his hand on his head in worry as sweat came over him. Then, he looked to see Whitley come out of his trance before seeing him.

"Oh. Pardon me, Father. Is something wrong?"

Jacques glared at him, having known his true plans.

"What do you think?"

* * *

Back at Oniyuri, Qrow stood ground against Dexus who glared at him.

"Well, well. If it isn't the 'Bad Luck Crow'."

Ruby got up on her feet before he turned to her for an answer as to who he was.

"I don't know. This guy's weird."

"Look, pal, I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my niece alone."

"Hmph. Then allow me to indulge you. I am Dexus, and I can't do that. Salem sent me on the mission to capture Raider. However... if I bring Ruby _and_ Pyrrha along with him, my reward will be glorious. Oh, they'll be made fine examples of!"

Then, Raider spoke up.

"Over my dead body!"

Qrow agreed with him as he got ready.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Raider."

"Sorry, gentleman, but I'm afraid you're going to eat those words."

With that, Dexus flared red eyes before his body turned dark purple, creating two copies, one for each Huntsman before they moved in on their opponents. As one copy countered his sword using his fists, another was dodging Raider's Armageddon as he slashed at the copy. Then, Qrow jumped in the air before slamming his sword into his opponent's hand, causing a shockwave to occur and cause one of the buildings to crumble. As Qrow smiled, the copy smiled back before retaliating with a disappearing act and attacking him from behind, urging Nora and Ren to move in, only to be halted with a shockwave. After that, Qrow continued to fight the clone as he warned the others.

"Don't come closer!"

Ruby wasn't one to listen to that kind of order, but figured it was to get the jump on him.

"Fine!"

She then leaped to a building up on top before using her Crimson Rose to target Dexus, but the copies, Qrow, and Raider were moving too fast for her. She was forced to wait as Dexus combatted her uncle before he found an opening and swayed the sword away from its owner and to a wall before preparing a dark orb, only for a bullet to phase through him. He determined that it was Ruby who had fired it before she repeated in vain. Qrow figured out what she was doing before he attempted to punch him, only for his punches to phase through him as he smirked. However, Pyrrha noticed the real Dexus, glowing a dark purple aura behind one of the buildings before she tossed her shield at him, knocking him to the floor and terminating both copies. Then, the real Dexus was forced to teleport before launching an attack on Raider, forcing him to block his fists with his Grimm arm. During the standstill, Raider's arm suddenly morphed into a sword like Qrow's before forcing him away into a building as Ruby saw this in shock as she used her scythe to get off of the building and land safely. After which, she ran towards the building just in time to see Raider knocked out of it before using Armageddon to teleport above Dexus, who saw it coming and moved out of the way before Ruby moved in to attack Dexus as Pyrrha grew worried.

"Ruby!"

Dexus smirked at her.

"This is getting very annoying very fast, Rose! Can't you decide to choose the winning team?!"

"No! But I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!"

"Then you have a death wish. Fortunately, I'll go easy on you. Salem would prefer you alive."

Then, Raider and Ruby closed in on him before he caught their blades and shoved them away before countless copies appeared around Ruby, who tried jacking them away, but they just stood still, unfazed by her attempt as the real Dexus closed in on her from above only for her to be shoved out of the way by Qrow, who turned to her niece.

"Ruby! What did I say?! Get back!"

"This is my fight, too! You've been taking care of us enough already! We're just as capable as you!"

"No, it's not that! It's—"

Then, she moved in to attack Dexus, only for him to phase through it before kicking her to the building, where coincidentally, a Beam was about to fall on her. Qrow, Raider, and Dexus noticed this before Qrow cleaved it above her as she smiled at him. At that moment, however, Dexus slammed his dark orb into his side before blasting him to a building. Ruby grew worried at this before she grew angry and tried to retaliate.

"NO!"

Ruby then fired countless bullets at Dexus, only to phase through all of them as he moved closer. Once she ran out, he smirked before clutching her arm and unleashing all of its charge on her, electrifying her with black lightning and causing her to pass out, much to Raider, Pyrrha, and the rest of the team's horror.

"No!"

"Ruby!"

Raider ran after Dexus who smiled at him before teleporting with her in his arms.

" _I may not have been able to capture you, my boy, but at least Salem will have a consolation prize! Go to the village of Kuroyuri, if you dare..."_

Then, Dexus laughed in the air before Raider grew furious and slammed his fist to the ground, splintering it before shouting to the air.

"I HATE YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME?! I HATE YOU!"

Then, the team moved in closer to Raider and Qrow, who sighed in despair, as they tried to understand the situation with Nora asking Qrow first.

"Who was that guy?"

"How did you get here?"

"Why are people after Ruby?"

Pyrrha turned to Raider, who was tensing his fist in anger.

"Raider, what's going on?"

Raider looked to her with pure rage in his red eye, frightening her as she stepped back some.

"I don't know. But if Salem wanted Ruby... then she's in real trouble."

* * *

At Atlas, Weiss, Mount, Klein, and Logan were at her bedroom in the manor before he thought back to what he said to Jacques before.

"'It's just business...' Not a bad thing to say, especially since he deserved it."

"Yeah, Klein. I've been waiting to say that for a long time."

Weiss still had concerns about their "negotiation."

"But... do you really think he'll go through with this?"

"If he cares one iota about your company, he has to. If he doesn't, it's deep six for the SDC. That was the deal."

Then, Weiss leaned into his arm before speaking to him.

"Well... However way this ends, thanks for helping me."

Then, Logan hugged her to add to the comfort.

"Dad always wanted me to help people. So, you know I'd do that."

Mount began grinning at how close they were before he started singing.

"Logan and Weiss underneath a tree..."

Logan, having heard this, snapped at him.

"Shut it, Mount! We're not at that stage yet!"

Just then, her holo-monitor came on to show Jacques at the front doors, holding an immediate press conference.

"Ladies and gentlemen. I'll have you all know that what I've proposed to those at the charity of Vale were all true. At present. However... I have committed a despicable act years ago. The truth is... I've overworked my fellow Faunus employees with no pay or proper refreshment, forcing my star employee, Travis Cross to the point where the landslide that crushed him all that time ago occurred."

As the crowd gasped in shock, many shouted to him "murderer!" But he ignored this and continued to explain himself.

"After which, I held a service to attend to his corpse properly. However, his young boy... he kept blaming me for his father's death. Over time, I began to believe it as I spiraled into madness. I tried so many times in so many of those following years to forget that shame. However, the actions of my heiress to the company, Weiss Schnee, reminded me that the bill always comes due. And it is high time for me to pay that bill properly and in full. So... effective immediately, and with a heavy heart... I step down from my position as CEO and place this company and all of its earnings under her care."

The crowd fell silent at his decision, thinking about whether or not it was good or bad.

"For a young child, she knows the definition of upholding honor, and will attend to the great and many needs of the people of Atlas as this company should've done to begin with. From now on, any present matters that you wish to discuss shall now be consulted by my daughter. As for me, as I said, I will pay that bill in full before I drag this company to the brink of collapse. Weiss is the strongest of the family name, so I now find her fitting to take my place. Good day to you all."

Then, the crowd cheered as he stepped down from the podium. After going behind the building, he started growling in anger before he slammed his fist to the wall of the house.

In the bedroom, Logan smiled at the plan's success.

"We did it. We actually did it! You got your company back, Weiss!"

As he began laughing and hopping around with Mount who joined in on it, Weiss only sighed before he noticed her looking down and tried to console her.

"What's the matter?"

"Logan... I appreciate what you've done for me... but... it's too soon to celebrate just yet. A lot of people are gonna be counting on me to solve everything. I have a lot of work to do."

Then, Logan placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up to him.

"You mean _we_ have a lot of work to do. In case you forgot, helping people is my specialty."

Klein then remembered what Klein offered to him.

"Well, I am going to take charge while you're away. I know I haven't forgotten."

Weiss tried to refuse his service, feeling that he'd done enough already.

"But you've helped me get it back. Don't you want to go back to your family?"

"Yeah, I do. But I don't want you to have to suffer all that work alone either. From here on out, whatever your problem is, it's my problem. Whoever your friends are, they're my friends. And whatever goal you have, it's my goal, too. Wherever you go, I will go. Whatever you do, I will always support you. Always."

Being overcome with joy at the thought of someone willing to stay with her, she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around him.

"Logan... thank you."

Then, he did the same thing gently before he responded.

"You're welcome."

* * *

Later, Jacques and Whitley were forced to go to Atlas' security force because of his crimes of slavery, an act that is part of "paying the bill." As they traveled by helicopter, there was a minor turbulence that became all too frequent for them before he complained to the driver.

"Do you mind?! Who taught you how to drive?!"

Then, the driver turned to him and was shown to be a girl with one half of her and eyes being pink and the other being brown known as Neopolitan (or Neo for short) as she smiled at him.

"You should be more worried about where I'm taking you."

That made him suspicious as he had a realization.

"Wait. You're not my usual driver. What is going on?"

Then, as an answer, a claw clutched onto the tail wing of the helicopter before it broke it off. Neo then made an announcement.

"I think this is where we get off. Well, I am. But you two are going for a ride."

With that, she jumped out of the helicopter and used a parachute as the helicopter was now clutched by two giant claws and dragged into a village before the door was forced open by Gath as he took the former CEO in his hand, clutching on his tie. Jacques tried to reprimand him, not realizing how dangerous he really was.

"How dare you?! Do you know who I am?!"

Gath didn't need him to repeat the name.

"I know very well who you are. Jacques Schnee, former CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. I look at you and immediately I am disgusted in your presence. You have no honor."

Then, Neo smiled as she brought Whitley out of the plane next.

"Come on, little boy. Wouldn't want you to miss the show."

"As punishment, I will eat both of your arms, and then both of your legs, and then I will eat your face right off your head! After that, I will feed your flesh to the beasts of the air. For the age of man has ended, and Salem's rule shall reign for an eternity to come."

Jacques, now being frightened of the beast, tried to identify him.

"Who... do you think you are?"

"Me? I am Gath. And you... are my next meal!"

With that, the dreaded beast mad good in his threat as the petrified Whitley watched while even Neo was a bit startled as the beast growled, his meal screaming for his life. When the feast was over, he turned to Whitley before he snarled at him.

"And then there's you. Whitley Schnee, the boy who desired the company for himself and manipulated his family to achieve it, if only for a moment. I should eat you right now."

Whitley began shivering at his threat as Gath licked his face with his tongue before he spoke to him again.

"However... your tenacity and cunning is admirable. I have a feeling that Salem will be most pleased with you."

He then chuckled as the boy cringed in fear.


	9. A Much Needed Talk

**Chapter 8:** "A Much Needed Talk"

At the forest, Raider, Qrow, and Team JNPR were sitting by the campfire as the former turned to the group.

"Really? No questions?"

Jaune, however, gave the reason for the prolonged silence to Raider, having been told of the Maidens and how they came to be as well as seeing Ruby captured by Dexus.

"Of course we have questions. This is just... a lot to take in."

"I don't blame you."

Nora inquired of him next about the four Maidens.

"So, these... Maidens... They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic, right? And there's four of them?"

"That's right. And if one of them dies, the power transfers to someone— a female— in their final thoughts. Worst case scenario, someone who would kill them, like Cinder, for instance."

"Best option, it's someone we can trust."

Then, Jaune turned to Qrow and began to speak angrily at him.

"And that's what you're trying to do to Pyrrha. The night the tower fell. You were trying to turn her into one of them."

Raider spoke up in his defense.

"The night the tower fell, Cinder killed Amber. She never got the chance to master her powers, and Cinder took that opportunity away from her. Whatever happened, though, she didn't get all of it. And Qrow and Ozpin didn't want to risk her getting the rest. So, point being, since I stopped her, Pyrrha would most likely be her next target. Why she didn't try to attack her since then, I have no clue, but I'd like to think she's recovering from what I did to her."

"So you forced it on Pyrrha."

Pyrrha, however, knew differently as she placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder.

"Actually, no one forced anything, Jaune. I chose to do this. They explained the situation to me, and I was given the choice. You were there, if you remember."

"Just like when you chose to go after Cinder?"

Pyrrha grew stunned at his angry tone for a moment before replying back to him.

"Yes. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Well, you've only made it worse for us. You could've died, and I would've been broken! Is that what you think this is all about?!"

Raider, sensing his temper, stepped in between the two.

"That's enough! Pyrrha cared about you, Jaune. Do you really think hurting you was her plan?"

Jaune tried to explain before he calmed down.

"No! I just...! (Sighs) Look. Like I said, it's a lot to take in."

Then, Pyrrha grew worried about Ruby, thinking about what Salem wanted with her, and spoke to Raider.

"That guy, Dexus — Why was he after you and Ruby?"

"Well, let's just say what I did to Cinder put a target on both of our backs at Beacon. I'm sure Qrow told you having silver eyes is a rare trait. Although I wasn't necessarily born with it, my semblance can copy that power, but only for so long. Even a flash of it is enough to put my Grimm half near death. However, that's not the only con of what I did. They began to take Ruby's own eyes in consideration and that upset a lot of powerful people. There aren't many who know about the silver eyes. Those that do? Well, some do their best to protect her, like me, and some... aren't very happy with that. That's why Qrow has been keeping an eye on you to make sure that all of you are safe. But, just today, we failed to protect her."

Jaune, still angry at Qrow, spoke to Raider about him.

"If that was true, then why didn't he come help us to begin with?"

"Because of his semblance. He was born with the ability to create a jinx around him. It's great when you're fighting enemies, but it can be just as harmful, especially around his friends and family."

"Well, maybe he should've stayed away."

Raider was beginning to have enough of what he considered to be unnecessary roughness before he spoke.

"Do you mind, Jaune? I get that you're mad at him, but if you don't have anything really worth saying, then just shut it."

Jaune grumbled at him before he sat down as Qrow spoke up while putting his flask away.

"Not many people are super religious these days. This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real."

As Qrow spoke on, the light from the campfire produced two shadows, one dark and one light as he gave the story.

"They were brothers. The older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the god of darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the god of darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all that he could do to rid Remnant of life. But life would return. So one night, the younger brother went and made something. Something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything. However, it needed a hive from which they could interact with him."

Raider knew what he was talking about.

"The Tenebris Comet. That's how the Grimm are born."

"You guessed it. But the Grimm that was produced from it weren't half as evolved as they are now, with Remnant being in a primitive state. The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation. Together. Something they could both be proud of. Their masterpiece. Younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that I could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow: The Path of Light or the Path of Darkness. And that is how humanity came to be."

Ren spoke up an inquiry, following the story.

"But... What does that have to do with us?"

Raider turned to Ren and gave an answer to him.

"That's just it. The four gifts to us, knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice aren't just metaphorical. They exist in a physical form, left behind by the brothers before they abandoned Remnant. And because they're extraordinarily powerful, whoever collects all four of them would be able to change the world. And we all know that's never a good thing. That's where the Huntsman Academies came in. They were not only created to train generations upon generations of humanity's protectors, but also to hide the four relics from those who would collect them. Especially from Salem. But now that she has Ruby, who knows what will happen now?"

Pyrrha, being more concerned than ever, asked him about her reasoning for capturing Ruby.

"What would Salem want with Ruby?"

"That's what I'm trying to work out. I'd say she's trying to hold her for ransom, but... none of us know where the Fall relic is. And she must already know that Ruby is a silver-eyed warrior. Either way, if she gets all of the relics, one thing's for sure: Remnant would be an everlasting underworld."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ruby was beginning to wake up as she heard a deep and dark voice speaking to a calm and collected one.

"What use could I possibly have for Salem?"

"That isn't for me to say. When she arrives, ask her yourself."

"You really expect me, the true heir of the SDC, to wait for her?"

As Ruby groaned, she opened her eyes to see herself in a metal cage while seeing Gath pointing his sword at Whitley as Neo watched before he spoke to the boy.

"You will if you wish to live."

Before he could protest, they heard Ruby's startled gasp and found her awake before Neo spoke to Gath.

"Well, look who's finally woken up."

"Ah. Ruby Rose. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ruby felt it weird that a Grimm acted hostile one moment, only to act well-mannered in another. All the same, she was paralyzed by his appearance.

"No! Get away from me!"

Gath feigned an act of sorrow from her words as he gasped.

"But why? I was merely welcoming you."

"Yeah, before you eat me!"

Gath once again put on his "innocent" charade in retaliation.

"How dare you? I'm so hurt that you'd think that."

"Where am I? Where are my friends?"

Gath walked up closer to Ruby before he answered her smugly with a question of his own.

"You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"I've been keeping a close eye on you since the Comet landed here. And I know for a fact that your friends, your family, they don't care about you."

"Liar! I know they're looking for me!"

"Are they? Now that Team JNPR is back together, what possible use could they have for you?"

Ruby tried to answer back, before thinking this through. She didn't like to admit this, but he could be right. Then again, he could also be wrong. She made a lasting impression on the team and knew it was true. She kept this in mind as she spoke back to him.

"We're friends. They'd never leave me behind."

"If that was true, my little rose, then why are you here?"

Ruby, was beginning to see his point, doubt spreading through her before he continued onward.

"And I'm not just talking about your 'friends'. Your sister... Yang, was it? She never bothered to travel with you. Does she even care about you anymore?"

As Ruby was seeing more and more if his point, she caught onto her thoughts of doubt and cast them all out in him as she spoke.

"I see what you're doing. You're trying to make me lose hope. So that I can be your prisoner. Well, guess what? Fat chance! You can never break me, even if you tried."

Gath chuckled at her proud statement before replying.

"Because you're already broken. Since the Fall of Beacon, you've been blaming yourself constantly for Penny's death."

Ruby gasped at his seemingly omniscient knowledge of her events before he spoke onward.

"Ah, yes... I know very well how it tortured you that you weren't able to stop it. Fact is, we don't need to break you. It's already happened."

Just as Ruby was beginning to show weakness, she shook her head before speaking to him.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I? Why do you think Qrow followed you without your knowledge? You think he cares about you? He never trusted you. To him, you're still just a child."

Ruby, now feeling bitter at him, tried to attack him, but couldn't due to the iron bars holding her.

"You take that back! Uncle Qrow does trust me!"

"Denying this won't make it any less true, Rose."

As Ruby continued to try to attack him, Gath poked her back in her cage, causing her to fall onto the wood before she glared back at him and spoke.

"But it's not true. It's not."

"Believe what you want. Either way, it is the truth whether you like it or not. The sooner you accept it, the better your new life will be."

"Huh? New life?"

"As Salem's prodigal child."

Ruby gasped in fear from hearing this before he spoke to her and walked away.

"Now, sleep however you please. Salem will need you to be at your best."

"Why?! What does she want with me?!"

"She sees great potential in you, Rose. And the Tenebris Comet will set it free."

"What if I don't want to go to the Comet?"

"Take it up with the gods."

As Gath walked away, Ruby began to hold her legs together with her arms around them as she shed small tears. She started to miss her friends, her home, and her family even more. However, she also knew that he was right about Yang. The girl didn't even care to go with her, because she wanted to be left alone. As she cried, she began to hate her sister now.

"Why, Yang? Why weren't you there for me?"

Ruby ceased her crying and wiped her tears away and laid down on the wood, not having any other option as escape proved futile before Whitley spoke to Gath.

"And who is she?"

"None of your concern. For now..."

* * *

At Menagerie, Blake was standing out in the patio with the broken moon glowing before Kali came up behind her with a tray holding a tea set, startling her before she spoke to her daughter.

"You know, you can always go in and say hi."

"I don't wanna bother him."

"A father's never too busy for his daughter."

"Not all of my friends would agree with you on that."

Kali leaned in closer to kiss her daughter's cheek before she handed the tray to her.

"Here."

As she started to walk away, Blake grew curious.

"What? Where are you going?"

"You've never been very talkative, but that boy you brought home loves to run his mouth. I wanna hear more about the adventures of Team RWBY."

As she walked away, Blake heard Ghira ask for her.

"Kali? Is that you, dear?"

Out of nervousness, she inadvertently shook the tray before she walked in with the tray and spoke to her father.

"Uh, hey, Dad."

He immediately grew happy seeing her as well as surprised.

"Blake! Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

"I..."

"Please! Come sit."

Then, Blake proceeded to go to the sofa before she set the tray down, against Ghira's insistence.

"Don't worry, I've got it. Sit down, sit down."

"I don't wanna keep you if you're—"

"Nonsense. I've been cooped up in here all day."

He then poured the tea before he got a sugar cube.

"You still take sugar, right?"

"Uh, actually, uh..."

"Oh! Sorry."

"No, no, no, no. It's fine."

However, Ghira tried to correct his mistake as he handed another cup to her.

"Oh, here, take this one."

However, Blake only took her own cup before she spoke to him.

"No, really. It's no big deal."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Old habits, I suppose."

Then, as Blake proceeded to take her drink, she ended up burning her tongue and gave a short sound of pain from doing so. Ghira thought it best to give her advice on the tea.

"Might wanna let it cool."

"Right."

As she set the cup on the table, Ghira tried to start a conversation with her.

"So... is it... warm... in Vale?"

"Huh?"

"It just... seems like your outfit doesn't cover very much."

Blake looked down at her outfit before she grew self-conscious and spoke to him in defense.

"It covers plenty."

"I mean, a little more armor might help. Don't you think?"

"I'm fine. I don't need armor. I can look after myself."

"I..."

Ghira then sighed before he spoke again.

"I know you can. I'm sorry."

Hearing those words, Blake didn't feel that he should be the one to apologize. After all, she was the one who went with the White Fang and insulted her own family before she ever came back to them.

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why would you say that?"

Ghira felt bad for her and tried to comfort her the best he could as he went to her in one knee.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong? What did I say?"

"How can you still love me after what I did?"

Then, he began to know what she was talking about. He then walked behind her and sat down on the sofa, putting his arm around her as he spoke.

"Blake... your mother and I will always love you."

Blake's spirits were still at a low as she replied back to him, barely able to contain the hurt in her voice.

"You were right. I shouted at you and yelled at you. But you were right. I called you cowards!"

As she felt more and more hurt by the things she did in the past, she lowered her head closer to him, Ghira held her as he spoke.

"It's okay."

However, Blake pulled away from him before she spoke further.

"I should have left the White Fang with you and mom. I should've listened to you and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Ghira, seeing a tear on her face, turned her chin to look at him before he wiped it away and spoke to her.

"Blake, it's fine. We never held anything against you, and I never feared you would fail. The only thing I ever feared was that you would fall down the wrong path. And I'm so proud to see you haven't."

"But I did! I was—"

"And you pulled yourself out. You came back. There aren't many who possess that kind of strength and even fewer have the courage to face their demons again. Vale, Mountain Glenn, Beacon— you confronted the White Fang time after time."

"I didn't do it alone."

"No, you didn't. Which is why I wanted to ask you— why did you leave Vale? Why did you leave your friends behind?"

Blake tried to stall for a bit before she decided to open up to him.

"I... I wanted to keep them safe."

"Safe? From you?"

"The last time I fought the White Fang, Adam hurt one of them. He could've killed her if I didn't get her out of there. He made it his mission to hurt the people I care about. I don't want any of their deaths on my conscience. They don't deserve to die because of me!"

As Blake began to sob at the thought of seeing Yang lying unconscious, Ghira pulled her in closer as he spoke to her.

"Blake... that wasn't your fault. Your friend did the best she could to protect you."

"And look where it got her! She's probably terrified now! Well, I'm done. They're better off without me."

"Is that why you ran away?"

"What do you think?"

"Blake. Whether you're with them or not, people will always get hurt. But you can't blame yourself for what happened to your friend. By now, she's wondering where you'd gone. Because if you ask me, the only thing she'd be terrified of right now is what could've happened to you."

As she realized this, that made it worse for Blake as she leaned in closer to him.

"What did I do to deserve this ache?"

"I... can't say for certain. But if there's a bright side to this, at the very least, you know what to do to make it right."

She then wiped her tears away and smiled at her father as if he was her savior.

"What did I do to deserve such an understanding father?"

Ghira smiled at her daughter before they heard a knock on the door before he responded.

"Come in."

Just then, Sun came in and noticed Blake and her father before he determined the situation and smiled nervously.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

Ghira gave a scowl to him but managed to put his dislike aside for the moment as he used manners.

"Just finishing, actually. What is it?"

"I've got something to tell you. It's about the White Fang."

* * *

At the campfire, Jaune and Nora spoke to Raider, concerning the notice of the other kingdoms.

"Alright. So, let's say we believe all this. There really is this crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them? Or Mistral?"

"And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get to Haven? Shouldn't we be getting them a message? What if they're next?"

"To answer your question, Nora, the headmaster at Haven saw what happened, so he'll be on his guard. And to answer yours, Jaune, if the whole world knows, there'd be another Great War. I know it won't be much different for you having to fight, but do you really want anyone else in your family risking themselves?"

Jaune tried to counter him, but later found that he had a point and sighed in defeat before he continued.

"Believe it or not, I had the same questions, too. But Ozpin always did put his foot down on that topic. And for good reason. Salem is as cunning as she is deceptive. She always works from the shadows, using others to get her way, so when the time comes to place the blame, you'd only point at each other, like you did not too long ago, Jaune. She's trying to divide us, humanity, and from what I can see, she's done a great job at it."

After a moment of silence, Pyrrha spoke to him.

"Alright, so what do we do?"

Raider turned to Pyrrha before he spoke to her.

"Well, first things first, we need to get some backup. Then, we'll need to make our way to Kuroyuri and plan an attack to save Ruby and get back on schedule to Mistral. From there, we'll talk with the headmaster. Obviously we can't turn to Atlas just yet; it's on high alert enough on its own territory. And Vacuo is... well, Vacuo. It'll be difficult to hire bandits and scoundrels to fight others like them, unless you've got a good connection to one of them, mainly their leader. Add in the fact that Cinder and her crew are from Haven and that's how we know it's where they'll strike next, which means we have to do this swiftly and discreetly. I understand that this must be a lot to take in. But I want you to know that we're here to fight for those who we've lost. And if not for them, then for those we haven't lost yet. In other words, we can't let Salem win. Any questions?"

Nora raised her hand before Raider pointed to her.

"Nora?"

"Are you sure it's a good idea to just go to Kuroyuri? I mean, we never told anyone else about me and Ren's... experience there."

"We'll go over that tomorrow. Until then, you should get some rest. I'll do a perimeter check around here."

As Raider walked out toward the darkness, Pyrrha looked to him before she asked him one more thing.

"I got a question. When you were fighting Dexus, I never saw your aura break once. How is that possible?"

Raider only sighed before he answered.

"I'll tell you, It wasn't easy. That ability was the most difficult for me to master. But, if you'd like, we can get started on that tomorrow."

Pyrrha began to get surprised before she figured him out.

"Wait. Are you offering to train me?"

"It's been a long time coming. You did choose to be the Fall Maiden."

Then, he walked away as Pyrrha smiled at him, leaving Jaune flustered before she turned to him.

"Jaune? Are you okay?"

Immediately, Jaune became defensive and spoke to her nervously as he blushed.

"Oh, no! No, no, I'm fine. I'm not jealous."

Nora grew confused as she blinked her eyes.

"Uh, what?"

* * *

At the patio, Blake and Ghira were looking at the photo of a girl with red hair in a white mask with horns before he spoke.

"Your mom said that White Fang members don't wear masks in Menagerie. But I saw one at the market yesterday! I even have a picture!"

Blake recognized the girl in the mask before she spoke up.

"Wait. I know her. It's... Illia."

Outside, a dark figure in the trees watched from afar before he flipped a coin, the sound of which got Blake's attention as her ears pricked up, causing her to turn to see a strange figure wearing a broken mask. One similar to Raider's. As she began to think it was him, she spoke his name.

"Raider?"

Then, the figure caught the coin and put it on the top of his palm to reveal a Grimm face on it before he spoke.

"Not even close."

Then, he pointed a white Grimm claw with black fingernails toward her before they got fired at her. However, Blake used her semblance to create a copy that vanished when the nails hit it, to the figure's surprise. When he tried again, an electric whip hit him on the arm, earning his shout of pain before he turned to see Illia and glared at her. Then, he gave chase to her as they leaped from tree to tree as Sun arrived just in time to see them take off.

"Were those ninjas?!"

"One of them is a spy! Illia was there, too!"

"But why would—"

Before he could finish his question, Blake took off after the two suspects, earning his increase in worry.

"Hey, wait!"

As this went on, Kali came from a corner in the house and went to Sun before she inquired of the situation.

"What's happened?"

"The White Fang is evil, I totally called it, and I'm getting your daughter back!"

Sun then took off to catch up as Kali looked up at him before noticing black fingernails on the floor and spoke to herself.

"That's not the White Fang."

* * *

At Kuroyuri, Ruby was now sleeping gently in her cage before Whitley cleared his throat, waking her up. Of course, she wasn't happy with that, given Weiss's story about him during her time in Vale.

"Oh. It's you."

"Well, you don't look all that special yourself."

"Ugh. What are _you_ here for?"

"Well..."

Whitley was about to answer her but realized that he'd no clue as to why the beast brought him to Kuroyuri.

"I don't know. All I know is that he told me that Salem would be pleased to see me."

"And you think that's a good thing?"

"At least I'm still alive."

"Well, I guess you're a coward, then."

Whitley grew offended by Ruby's rashness and tried to retaliate verbally.

"I beg your pardon?"

As she was about to answer, Gath growled and spoke to Whitley.

"Leave her be, Schnee. Lest you forget, I devoured your father's flesh. I'll devour yours just as easily. Are we clear?"

Whitley gulped at Gath before he spoke.

"Crystal."

Then, Gath walked back to the gate as Ruby smiled at his whimpering. Then, it crossed her mind as to what she did. She wouldn't smile about anyone's shortcomings, yet here she was beaming like a Cheshire Cat. The thought appalled her before she remembered what Dexus said.

" _I didn't think the comet's effects could be airborne. Or was that a mistake?"_

As she pondered it, she began to think about another subject. Where was the Tenebris Comet? As if to answer, she saw a large shadow come over her and saw a horde of sentient Grimm and several hybrids hauling the comet to the village as she grew frightened. And yet... at the same time, it intrigued her. Just then, she heard a calm and descending tone speak behind her.

"I trust you're taking an interest, my rose?"

Ruby then turned behind her to see Salem, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald walking out of a black portal before she spoke.

"Well, it's hard not to. You must be Salem, right?"

Salem grew impressed at her knowledge as she smiled.

"It seems my reputation precedes me."

Then, Salem took notice of her squalor container.

"Why is she in the cage?"

Gath turned to Salem before bowing.

"Why, it was to keep her from escaping, my pale lady."

"Why, there's no need for such captivity. Please. Let her out."

Ruby grew confused at her request as she and Whitley spoke at the same time.

"What?"

"As you wish."

Then, Gath unlocked the cage and held his hand out to Ruby, only for her to pull her own away and jumped off by herself. As she did, Salem took notice of Whitley's presence.

"And who's this one?"

Gath vied to answer for her.

"I sensed great cunning and deception from this young child, my pale lady. He was able to secure the position as heir to the Schnee Dust Company before his plan was overthrown."

"Is that right?"

Whitley grew rightfully nervous as Salem walked to him and placed her hand on his cheek and petted it.

"Well, it looks like he'd make an interesting subject."

Then, Ruby spoke to Salem, not caring about manners or such pleasantries toward her.

"Why did you bring me here, Salem?"

"Why, to help you of course."

"Help me?"

"You're beginning to know how the world works, I'm sure. But we're here to help you achieve full knowledge of it, and with it, your true potential."

* * *

Out at the forest, Raider walked alone in the forest before he heard cawing from a nearby tree as a raven with red eyes swooped behind him before it turned into a certain bandit Qrow spoke to the other day.

"You couldn't have picked the worst time to show up, Raven."

Then, Raven walked up to Raider as she spoke.

"And what makes you think it's your call?"

"I'm not the one who ran away, for starters."

Raven felt offended before she spoke to him in anger.

"Don't you get it? All that gazing with your semblance and you still don't know what you're dealing with."

"Don't _you_ get it? My father stood up against Salem when I was just a kid. He was a man I could be proud of because he openly defied Salem even though he knew it meant his life."

"And look where that got him."

"I did. He died to make sure I'm standing here. Because I'm one of Remnant's only hopes against Salem."

"There's no hope against Salem, Raider! I saw her power for myself! You weren't there!"

"I didn't need to be. I know exactly what I'm dealing with. And I also know who I'm really talking to."

Raven hardly saw that as a surprise as she scoffed.

"You really think I'm enough?"

"Not really. With Pyrrha and you, that makes two maidens. So far, with our team ready to fight, our chances are 50/50. Those odds can be changed to our favor if you'd work with us."

"Except for one thing: the Tenebris Comet. I won't let myself or my clan get turned into one of those things."

"If you keep running away, that will be more likely to happen. A few days ago, before we last met, Mount told me about a shipment of Grimm hybrids headed to Menagerie."

"So what?"

"The people that were being shipped to Menagerie, they're a part of a faction that will decimate you and your clan. One that's been working with Salem and were already hybrids before the comet arrived in the first place. And you already know the leader. You killed his sister. One day or another, he will find you and make you suffer for what you did to Summer."

Raven began to grow shocked at the threat of her clan being decimated.

"Are you threatening me?!"

"I'm not. But Salem is. Even if you run, she'll still follow you wherever you go and won't rest until you and your clan are destroyed. So, are you gonna spend the last moments of your life running away? Or are you gonna do it being a woman Yang would be proud of?"

Raven hung her head down as she remembered how she'd left her alone with Taiyang and thought it was a joke coming from him.

"After what I've done, the choices I had to make, do you really think she'd ever be proud of me?"

"Not yet. But only you can change that. I've got a team to look after. I have the same responsibilities as you. You can't shirk it forever, even for the sake of your tribe. And don't tell me you can or that you will, because we all have an expiration date. Especially your daughter. But if you want to be a coward, then by all means, be a coward. But know that doing this would put your clan at more risk than if you chose the alternative. And it'll be all your fault."

"Who do you think you are lecturing me?!"

"Just a stranger trying to bring you back to doing what's right. But if you won't accept my help, then I'm done trying to convince you. And Yang would die all because you wouldn't listen."

As he turned away, Raven felt an overwhelming sense of fear at the thought of Yang being tortured to death by the leader as he dug his black fingernails into her chest and heard her screams of agony that would haunt her for the rest of her days, urging her to grip on Raider's arm before he turned to her as she spoke softly.

"You can't do this to me, Raider."

Raider only glared at her before he quoted her.

"And what makes you think that's your call?"

Then, Raider walked away as Raven tried to speak to him.

"I... I'm sorry."

Raider stopped moving before he turned his face to her in a 90 degree angle.

"I'm not the one you should apologize to."

As he walked away, Raven was trying to decide what to do, knowing that Salem would be waiting at Kuroyuri from watching the team, her brother, and Raider. They're all willing to fight but she wasn't. However, she began to think about his point. If Salem found out who the Spring Maiden really was, she'd be after her like a Grimm to its victim, but if Raider was right about Salem being able to be stopped, she also wanted to keep the element of surprise. Then, there was her daughter to consider. She ran away from her when she was little for more than the past decade. If there was a time to visit, now would be the time. She then opened a portal with her sword before walking into it, just as it disappeared.


	10. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

**A/N: Hello. Sorry I didn't send a note on my last chapter. Anyway, the last chapter starts as a prelude to Ruby's descent into the Path of Darkness. This chapter and the next will detail more of her choices before the climactic clash at Kuroyuri. BTW, the figure that attacked Blake is voiced by Aaron Eckhart, who I believe is so rocking awesome. As for the name, you'll have to read more of the chapter to find out. Ciao! :)**

 **Chapter 9:** "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back"

Back at Patch, Yang was sparring against Taiyang out in the field while Zwei watched excitedly as he panted. When Taiyang proceeded to do an overhead kick, Yang blocked it and countered with a punch from her new arm, knocking him away as he looked up in surprise.

"Whoa... that thing packs a punch!"

"We've been at this for weeks. I get it, you wanna make sure I can still fight."

Then, she put her fists together as she smiled.

"I think I'm doing just fine."

"You're close."

"Oh, really?"

"You're still off-balance."

"What?! No, I'm not!"

As he laughed, Yang looked back at her arm as she spoke.

"Honestly, I'm kind of surprised. I thought it would just be this huge weight, but... it feels... natural. They did a great job with this thing."

However, as she was distracted, Yang ended up punched in the face before Taiyang and Yang proceeded their sparring before he gripped her arm as she held back his elbow.

"I wasn't talking about your actual balance."

Then, he swiftly tripped her before she fell to the ground.

"Although, that could use some work too."

Then, he walked over to where Zwei was as he gave Taiyang a towel before he rubbed his head while Yang sighed on the floor before speaking.

"Meaning?"

"I saw your tournament fights. During the Vytal Festival."

"Let me guess. 'I was sloppy.'"

"No, no, you were predictable. And... stubborn. And maybe a little boneheaded."

Yang got up and sat with her legs crossed together as he spoke onward.

"Do you realize that used your Semblance to every fight after the qualifiers?"

"So what? How is me using Semblance any different than someone else using theirs?"

"Because not everyone else's is basically a temper tantrum. I'm serious! Once you take damage, you can dish it back twice as hard, but that doesn't make you invincible! It's great when you're in a bind, but what happens if you miss? What happens if they're stronger? What then? Now you're just weak and tired! You've always been one to burn brighter than everyone else, whether it was with your smile, or, well, I remember your first haircut."

Yang playfully shoved her father's arm away as she chuckled a little bit before he walked to a tree.

"But you gotta keep your emotions in check. Keep a level head, and think before you act. Your Semblance is a great fallback, but you can't let yourself rely on it. It won't always save you. Obviously. You definitely have your mom's stubbornness."

Yang felt it strange that he chose now of all times to speak about her, given it was a touchy subject in the past.

"Oh, So now we can talk about her?"

"Well, as I have been informed, you're an adult now, remember?"

"Well, sorry I remind you of her."

"Don't be. Raven was great in so many ways— her strength, her ambition, her dedication to whatever cause she thought was worth fighting for. I'm proud of how much of her I see in you. But, I'm glad I didn't see all of her in you."

"Why?"

Taiyang sighed about the drawbacks of her mother before he spoke onward.

"Your mother was... a complicated woman. Like everybody, she had her faults, but those faults are what tore our team apart. And for the worst. You know Summer?"

"Yeah. Ruby's mother. Why?"

Taiyang sighed in reverence, trying to work up the nerve to say this before h finally did.

"One day, she was lost. Raven found her and tried to train her. When that wasn't good enough for her... she removed her from the picture... permanently. Her brother Crimson? He _hated_ her with great vengeance since then and swore to make her suffer by any means necessary, especially if it meant killing her only child. And, it did a great number on our family."

"But... why would mom do that? How could she?"

"I... don't know. But... whatever she thought... it's bound to catch up to her one day."

As he spoke to his daughter, neither were aware that Raven was watching from far away, holding her head down in shame from what she did in the past to the team and to her family.

"You both act like the easiest way to tackle an obstacle is through it. That strength is all that matters in a fight. But if you just take a second look, then maybe you see... there's a way around as well."

Yang looked up a bit before Taiyang spoke to her.

"C'mon. One more before dinner."

As he held his hand to her, she took it and was lifted up before they did one more session, not noticing that Raven was watching. He made the first move with a punch, forcing her to block and dodge them before she flipped and made a strike if her own. When he blocked and countered it, she rolled away before she and her father ran toward each other and countered each other as they held each other's elbows at bay before he spoke.

"Heh. See? Alright! Now you're using your head instead of your—"

As he was speaking, he didn't notice Yang smiling before she tripped him and gripped his hand before he could fall. After a while, Father and daughter smiled to each other before they heard a rustling from the bushes. They turned to see Raven walking out from the bushes before she cleared her throat and tried to speak.

"Hello, Taiyang."

As Yang lifted her father up, he spoke back to her.

"Well, speak of the devil..."

* * *

At Atlas, there was a news broadcast about the apparent disappearance of Jacques and Whitley Schnee as Weiss, Logan, Mount, and Klein watched.

"Not long after the announcement of his retirement, the body of former CEO Jacques Schnee is found stripped of his arms, legs, and face while his son, Whitley Schnee, is nowhere to be found. The forensics experts have found traces of Grimm on the corpse and recovered an audio footage of what took place not long after the crash."

Then, they played a voice of Gath speaking to him.

" _I look at you and immediately I am disgusted in your presence. You have no honor. As punishment, I will eat both of your arms, and then both of your legs, and then I will eat your face right off your head! After that, I will feed your flesh to the beasts of the air. For the age of man has ended, and Salem's rule shall reign for an eternity to come."_

Weiss, Logan, Mount, and Klein grew shocked at the message before the news last spoke onward.

"That leaves more questions than there are answers. What sort of Grimm is Remnant faced with now? Who is Salem? And what does his cryptic threat mean?"

Before it could go on, Weiss turned off the holo-monitor before she voiced her concern.

"Honestly, I'mmore worried about what my friends are dealing with."

Logan agreed with her, but for a different reason.

"Yeah. I mean, I can't say he didn't deserve it, but what about those innocent people? They're gonna die if we don't do something."

Weiss stood up proudly as an answer.

"All the more reason to go to Mistral."

"But what about the company?"

Then, Klein spoke up as his eyes turned red.

"Aren't you forgetting someone? I can cover it better than that snob of a father ever could."

Logan grew more and more impressed with his personality shifts while Weiss grew concerned.

"Wow, Klein. Love the fire."

"But... are you sure you're up for it?"

"Of course. I know the groundwork of the company inside and out. I can certainly keep it running for you, m'lady."

Weiss wasn't entirely sure about this, but it was better in his hands than her father's, or Whitley's for that matter. So, however reluctant she was, she agreed as she hugged him.

"Okay. Thank you, Klein."

Then, Mount spoke to Weiss.

"So, what plan now?"

"First, we're going to Atlas Academy and getting Ironwood's help. Then, we go to Mistral."

"Mistral? That's where I just came from. Why would you want to go there, apart from the obvious, that is?"

Weiss looked at him with determination before she answered him.

"I'm getting back into my team."

* * *

At Menagerie, as the figure chased Illia, he was being chased by Blake as they hopped from one tree to another. When he caught up to her, he drew his black fingernails and put them near her throat.

"You don't get to play the odds, Faunus."

Then, he heard a noise from above, catching his attention before he looked up to see Sun jumping from above.

"Gotcha!"

However, before he could get him, the figure teleported in a white haze along with Illia before he landed on a branch as Blake gave chase.

"Hey, wait up!"

"Don't let them out of your sight!"

Then, Blake emerged from the trees as the figure practically mowed the roofs with Illia, breaking her mask in the process as he ran before slamming her onto one as he growled.

"Where... is... the scroll?"

Suddenly, Blake ambushed him with her Gambol Shroud wrapping around his clawed hand before he retaliated by chucking it toward him, tossing Blake into a pipe, breaking it before she got herself up and spoke angrily at him.

"Who are you?"

The figure spoke back as he got out a coin that showed a man before showing the other side that showed a Grimm.

"Someone who believes in chance."

Just then, Sun jumped up before the figure noticed him.

"Give it up!"

"Like you have any right to tell _me_ what to do!"

The figure retaliated by firing his black fingernails at Sun, only for them to be dodged before Illia took advantage of the distraction and tripped the figure. Then, he noticed that Sun has an electronic scroll as he got himself up before Blake, Illia, and Sun stood in a triangle around him before he only smiled.

"You think the odds are in your favor? You're all cowards, not willing to face me alone."

Blake spoke to him angrily.

"What gives you the right to call us that?"

"Because I'm willing to do with the White Fang, with all of my enemies, what you won't: burning them to the ground."

Then, he remembered when Raider spoke about the White Fang the other day.

" _I don't give a dung about the will of the White Fang. In fact, I don't even care if it burns to the ground..."_

To be sure, Blake asked him a question, knowing that they haven't seen Pyrrha since she went with him.

"What did you do to Pyrrha?"

The figure seemed confused as he answered her.

"Who is Pyrrha?"

That was more than enough confirmation for Blake that the figure wasn't Raider.

"You're not him."

"No. He was just a child. But I've outgrown him."

Then, the figure let his hood down to expose a black-haired man with red streaks on his hair as well as white fur in the left side of his face with a glowing red eye as he spoke.

"I'm Crimson Rose."

Blake heard the last name and grew worried that Ruby could be related to that madman.

"No way. Who are you, really?"

"I told you. Someone who believes in chance."

Then, he tossed the coin before placing it in his palm and revealing a man's face before he spoke to Blake.

"You're lucky this time, Blake."

After a brief silence, Crimson turned to Sun before he flipped again and saw a Grimm's face on it before speaking.

"But he isn't."

Then, he shot his black fingernails at Sun, stabbing him on the shoulder as he yelled, causing Blake to be afraid as she experienced, Yang's dismemberment all over again.

"Sun!"

Then, as Illia began to back away, Crimson turned to Blake before speaking.

"You shouldn't have come back to Menagerie, Blake. If you're not gone by the end of this week, the Grimmites will bathe this island, your hands, in your kind's blood. Still think the odds are in your favor?"

Then, Crimson vanished in a white haze before she noticed that Illia had gone before she checked on him.

"Sun! Sun!"

When she got to his body, she found the fingernails deep in his skin and bleeding him out before she desperately got them out and tried to clot out the wound with her hands.

"No, no, no, no, not again, please! Help! Somebody! Hold on, Sun. Just hold on."

* * *

At Kuroyuri, Ruby was walking with Salem towards the center of the village where the Tenebris Comet laid in wait as she initiated a dialogue with her.

"So, what did you mean when you said you'll help me unlock my true potential?"

"Believe it or not, your mother mastered that power by accepting the world for the way it is through experiencing the loss of someone she loved dearly; the Spring Maiden."

"The Spring Maiden?"

"One of four chosen by a wise old man, each representing different seasons. Anyway, when she died, she held your mother in her thoughts. When she did, the power transferred over to her."

"Wait. Am I hearing you right? My mom, Summer Rose, was the Spring Maiden?"

"Yes. Her silver eyes were a rare trait of their own, but the power of a maiden made her just as powerful. However, she was afraid of what the power could do. So, she turned to Raven."

"Raven? You mean Yang's mom?"

"Oh. So you do know her. Well, were you ever told about what really happened to your mother?"

Ruby then recalled that every time she asked Taiyang when they were little, he would push the topic aside.

"No. Every time I tried to find out, he always shuts me out."

"Oh, you poor thing, to be kept from the truth... well, as difficult as it is to say to you... Raven was frustrated with Summer not willing to take her training to heart. So, she got rid of her and became the next Spring Maiden."

Ruby gasped as she covered her hands while tears began to manifest as Salem spoke on and feigned sorrow.

"All because she chose to follow such a savage rule: the weak die, the strong live."

That really set off Ruby as she tensed her hands and summoned her Crescent Rose before smashing the point of it to the ground as she yelled out in agony and anger and cracked the ground to pieces. After the short tremor that followed, Ruby began to sob her heart out while Salem walked over to comfort her as she brushed her hair.

"There, there, my Rose. Your mother's death wasn't your fault. You were just a babe back then."

"Does Uncle Qrow know?"

"I don't believe he does. If he did, well... he'd be as angry as you right about now."

"How could I be so weak...?! I could've stopped her! She could've been with me!"

"Unfortunately, we can't make that happen..."

Then, Salem brought up a smile before she spoke to her again.

"Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"As I recall, you were on your way to Haven. Is that right?"

"So?"

"Do you know why Haven is so important? It contains the Relic of Knowledge. You don't know about their critical role, but we'll get to that in a moment. But to make it short, once you use it, it will reveal where the other relics are hidden. After which, we will find those other relics and use their power to end all suffering. Especially yours, my rose."

Ruby, desperate as she was to see her again, reminded herself not to be swayed before she spoke to Salem.

"And how can I be sure your word is good enough?"

"Well, it's certainly faring better than your sister's. She made a promise to look after you, but where is she now?"

Then, Ruby sighed, remembering how Yang treated her when she saw her last.

"Probably still sulking over a stupid arm..."

"That's exactly my point. You're getting the picture, I see."

"Yeah. I used to think the world was such an amazing place where everything good would happen. But I was a fool. The world is just cruel. And that's all it'll ever be. Unless I change that. For good."

"Yes, and it can only happen if you make the right choice."

"Such as?"

"I think you might know the answer."

Ruby then looked to the Tenebris Comet before looking back to Salem as Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald stood behind them.

"Please. Take me in. Give me the strength to change it for the better."

Then, Salem gave Ruby a hug that startled her a moment before she returned the favor.

"Good. That's all I ever wanted to hear, my rose."

* * *

Below the dreary sky, possibly from the Grimm smoke headed toward the Tenebris Comet, Raider, Qrow, and Team JNPR were walking through the life-drained forest as Nora spoke.

"How much farther is Kuroyuri from here? We've gotta be close."

Ren answered her as he turned his head to her.

"Without the map, there's no way of knowing. But I feel like we're close to something."

Just then, he saw a sign that showed a street sign pointing to Mistral, Higanbana, Kuchinashi, and Kuroyuri as Nora noticed it too.

"Hey, hey! Mistral! We're on the right path!"

Then, she noticed Kuroyuri as well as Ruby's hostage situation.

"Oh..."

Raider spoke up to them.

"Does it say how close?"

"No... and it looks like the path takes us through the mountains."

"Good. Then we'll head our way there and create a way to distract them and get Ruby back. But... we can't let them wait too long. Salem may be patient, but the Grimm?Who knows what could happen?"

Then, Nora had a suggestion to fix that.

"We can split up."

"What?"

"Ren and I can cut through the mountains while you, Pyrrha, Qrow, and Jaune go around the village."

Jaune was against that as well as Raider.

"No, we're supposed to stick together."

"Jaune's right. We keep each other safe!"

"We don't have time for safe! Ruby just got captured, remember? If we make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help! If we don't, we'll at least have a better view of the land! Up there, we can see if there's a way in where Salem won't notice!"

Then, Raider sighed in defeat before he agreed.

"Okay. Fine. Just take care of each other."

Nora turned to Ren as she smiled at him.

"We always have."

Then, while Ren and Nora went to the path to Mistral, the rest headed to Kuroyuri to rescue Ruby as Raider and Pyrrha noticed Jaune's sad look, to which the latter spoke to him.

"They'll be fine, Jaune."

"You don't know that."

"No. But why should we doubt that? They always took care of each other, right?"

Uplifted by her words, Jaune smiled and nodded back to her.

"Right."

Then, Raider spoke up to Qrow.

"So... those two that are going to Mistral... they're a thing now?"

"Beats me. But it sure looks that way, doesn't it?"

As they tread their steps, they never noticed the Knuckelavee hoofprint on the ground.


	11. Kuroyuri

**A/N: Hello. I'll give you a fair warning and let you know that this is where Ruby continues her fall and becomes more unhinged and dangerous each minute that passes while at Salem's side. For those of you who prefer her to be pure, it's not for the faint of heart. And there will be a flashback of Kuroyuri, but I couldn't come up with a proper moment between Li Ren and one of my characters in time. And the younger version of him will be voiced by Nolan North. Enjoy the story. :)**

 **Chapter 10:** "Kuroyuri"

Far away in the early morning, Oscar was walking out of the barn after having talked with his aunt. At first, she was initially against it, but she also knew how much work he had done recently, asking for nothing in return. Besides, he'd read about Haven Academy and always wanted to go there when he was little. That made his aunt all the more willing to let her nephew go on his own. Moments before he walked out, his aunt gave him a hug and to let her know if he's made it to Haven once he got there, a promise he intended to keep. As he walked deeper into the woods, Ozpin spoke to the boy, feeling bad for pressuring him to go on this journey when he was content to stay at the barn.

"I'm sorry."

"Y'know... the weirdest part is how it feels. Leaving home is crazy. Going to the city is crazy. Everything you've told me is completely crazy. But it doesn't feel crazy anymore. It feels like I'm doing the right thing."

"Well... I suppose that's good."

"No. It's scary."

Then, he heard thunder crackle ahead of him, urging him to pick up the pace before the rain could start. However, he was too late and had to use a backpack to hold it above his head as an umbrella. When he'd gotten to the station, he tried to pay for his ticket, only for it to give an error alert due to insufficient funding.

"Stupid thing. I'm assuming whatever weird magic this is doesn't come with an infinite supply of money?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to solve this one on your own—"

Then, Ozpin immediately piped up, catching Oscar's notice.

"Huh?"

"Be on your guard."

"What do you mean?"

Unknown to him, Hazel was walking to Oscar before he spoke.

"Here."

As he walked toward him, Hazel banged his first on the machine, causing it to produce a ticket for him before he walked onward. After a moment, though, he stopped and turned to him.

"Don't let such a small obstacle block your path."

He then walked toward the train before Oscar spoke to Ozpin.

"That man... I felt... Who is he?"

"Someone from my past. Someone who should not be taken lightly."

Just then, a train arrived at the station at high speed by Oscar.

* * *

At Kuroyuri, an outstanding number of Grimm, hybrid or otherwise, occupied the village as if it was a haven for them. As Ruby looked around while walking beside Salem, she was astounded by how well they interacted with each other: like the way people do. An example of this is demonstrated when a hybrid was brought some meat from a Beowulf before he petted it. That made her all the more inclined to ask.

"Hey, Salem? How can these people be so... content with the way they are?"

"Well, they're not monsters. Even the dark has its own rules of living."

Ruby thought it had one rule, but with what she's been introduced, it could carry a hidden meaning.

"Like Raven's rule?"

"No. That rule is savage. We don't kill them for being weak. We help to empower them, as does the Tenebris Comet."

That made another question pop up in her mind as she spoke.

"Is that where the Grimm came from?"

"Yes. But it didn't create them out of thin air. It had to work with any living material. Do you know about the story of the two brothers?"

Ruby tried to answer, but couldn't find any memory of that story being told to her before she answered.

"No."

"You don't? I thought Ozpin would've told you?"

"Yeah... I tend to doze off every once in a while."

"Perhaps I can remedy that. And be sure to pay attention now. A very long time ago, there were two brothers. The god of light, the creator, and the god of darkness, the destroyer. By day, he would create plants and wildlife. But by night, the younger brother would find his land being littered and tried to destroy as much life as he could in Remnant. As the cycle continued, one day, he had an idea to guarantee its imminent destruction. Of course, all he knew was to destroy any living being, but that didn't stop him from creating an entity that could corrupt anything within it and point their path the other way: the Tenebris Comet. That's how the Grimm came to be. They were once animals with souls and auras like you, but due to its effects, they can't come back as easily as life itself could. So, they had to return either via the comet or special pools that would reconstruct them. When the Elder saw this, he had enough and struck back. But after he came to realize how futile this conflict really was, he made a proposal: that they make one last creation together. Something they would both be proud of. In other words, humanity. That's how we're given knowledge, free will, and a choice. The Grimm are given that same choice, too. That is why the Tenebris Comet acts as a beacon for the fallen Grimm."

As she spoke dark clouds went inside the comet before it produced more docile Grimm creatures as they lined up.

"Better yet, it re-educates them into more peaceful beings."

Ruby, seeing the docile Grimm, grew more and more impressed as the story made more sense to her.

"Wow. I never thought of the Grimm like that before."

"No one ever does. But, they also serve another function."

"Like what?"

Far away, Ruby heard Cinder's grunting as she was fending off the Grimm as Salem spoke.

"Training. Ever since the Fall of Beacon, she's still recovering from the Fall Maiden's powers, but... she's shown little improvement as of late."

Then, Salem walked toward Cinder as Ruby followed her and the both of them saw how tired she was becoming. Though, it's safe to say Salem was displeased.

"Enough. I thought you were the girl that wanted power. Did you lie to me?!"

Ruby could see the hurt in Cinder's eyes, feeling bad for her in spite of what she'd done, as she replied weakly.

"No..."

"Then stop holding back. If you wish to master your new powers, you must—"

Then, Ruby spoke up to Salem.

"Permission to speak, Salem?"

"You're free to speak. There's no need for pleasantries."

"What if I sparred with her?"

Cinder widened her eyes to hear this as she and Salem grew surprised.

"And why would you suggest that?"

"Well, the way I see it, we both want the same thing. We want to be stronger. Maybe us training together would fix that. Besides, I was looking for a bit of payback for what happened to Penny."

Salem began to smile at her balance of looking out for someone in need and her own need for retribution.

"Hmm. Not a bad thought. You know, you're not the first to show kindness to her."

"I can imagine. You did take her in."

"I wasn't referring to myself. Another showed her kindness once, too."

"Really? Was it her boyfriend?"

Cinder rolled her eye at this before Salem answered.

"More like her partner. Unfortunately, their ideals conflicted with each other, and he lashed out at her. You were there for that."

Ruby immediately got the sense that the lashing out happened at Beacon when it fell as she recalled a bright light and spoke to her.

"You mean... her partner was...?"

"Yes."

Ruby then looked to Cinder, seeing her scarred eye blocked by her hair and spoke to Salem again.

"And... he really did that to her? How?"

"Believe it or not, that's part of the reason you're here. You carry that same trait as well. The silver eyes. It stirs the Grimm with worry because of their power."

"But I would never hurt them."

"You have in the past."

"Not anymore. Especially not now that I know what they really are."

"I know you feel that way. But the savage Grimm won't have the same sentiment. That's where the comet comes in. Once they're defeated, they go to the comet and are rehabilitated."

The more she got out of the story, the more she began to think about the possible effects it could have on her if she used it. If she's still pure of heart when she uses it, she could be monstrous, but if she's monstrous when using it, she could be pure of heart again. The Grimm were fine examples for her indeed.

"Hmm. Is that why you had her training against the savage Grimm? Because you used the comet as a homing beacon for them?"

"They do seem to thrive on negativity, don't they?"

Just then, they heard a snarl of a Beowulf behind them before it lunged at Ruby. However, she was prepared for that as she swiftly summoned her Crescent Rose and impaled it through its head from underneath before slicing upwards to split its head apart in two. Cinder watched in surprise as Ruby started enjoying this, beginning to bear a wicked smile.

"I say bring them on. We could both use them."

As Cinder stood up in shock of Ruby's sudden change, one of the petals that came from her summoning the scythe turned silver as it flew by Dexus who watched as it landed by a dried up flower on the river.

"Be grateful that we own this village, Rose. The way to obtain it was... difficult to say the least."

* * *

 _Many years prior, a_ _little boy went up to a flower in the river before a feminine voice giggled._

" _Why hello, little Lie. Are we trying to catch a fish?"_

" _I found a flower in the water!"_

" _Ah, I see."_

 _Then, Lie went up to his mother before he asked her._

" _Can we take it home and plant it in the garden?"_

 _The mother spoke to her son solemnly._

" _Oh, no, sweetheart. That flower lives here."_

 _Lie was very sad about that before his mother patted him on the shoulder before taking out a green bill._

" _But I'll tell you what you can do. Take this Lien and go find something nice for your father's return. He's been hunting for quite some time. I bet the journey's been very tiring, don't you?"_

 _The young lad took the alien from his mother's hand as he answered._

" _Yes."_

" _Do you think you'll know what he wants?"_

 _Then, Lie thought about what he wanted before answering._

" _I think... he wants a water flower in the garden!"_

 _That made her giggle a bit._

" _Why did you have to inherit my sass?"_

 _She then playfully pushed him before he ran over the bridge as she smiled._

 _In the village, Lie went to a blacksmith and asked him as he showed a Lien to him._

" _What can I buy with this?"_

 _The blacksmith smiled as he got out a small wooden sword._

" _Well, something just your size."_

 _Lie hung his head down before he went to another store selling food before he got to move up and speak to him._

" _Sake, please."_

 _As the owner took a look at the size of the young lad, he shook his head, earning a groan from the boy before Lie moved on. Then, he noticed a bakery and smiled at its confectionaries before he heard a voice._

" _Hey, come back here!"_

 _He grew very confused before becoming determined to find out what was going on. He followed the source of the laughter before he found a little girl being made fun of by three other boys._

" _Where'd you get that bread? I didn't see you pay for it, thief!"_

" _No, look, it's all moldy!"_

" _I think she got it from the trash!"_

" _Lemme see!"_

 _The little girl, however, saw through their ruse and tried to protect it by biting one of the boys' finger._

" _Ah! She bit me!"_

 _When they were in shock, the one that was bitten retaliated by shoving her, angering Lie before he slowly walked forward as the commotion got worse._

" _Where'd she come from? She's dressed all weird!"_

" _I bet she's abandoned! Like a dog or something!"_

" _Does that mean I have rabies?"_

 _As they began to laugh even more, Lie couldn't hold back his anger anymore before shouting at them._

" _Enough!"_

 _The boys looked at him in surprise before he spoke onward._

" _If you don't leave that girl alone, I'll... I'll make you pay!"_

 _The boys began backing up in fear as he spoke onward, his confidence replacing his fear more and more by the second._

" _Yeah! So leave her alone and mind your own business!"_

 _However, he began to feel a tall presence behind him and discovered the true reason for their fear: his father._

" _Father?"_

 _And he wasn't alone, either. He was accompanied by a figure with spiky hair and green armor._

" _What is happening here?"_

 _His companion made a guess._

" _It would appear your son was sticking up for that young girl, Li. A penchant for having a bleeding heart."_

 _Li was getting annoyed with his pessimistic outlook._

" _I get the concept, Dexus."_

 _Then, the little girl began to panic and run before Lie spoke up._

" _Wait! Don't leave! It's okay. You're safe."_

 _Then, Dexus grew angry at the boys._

" _But that's more than he can say for you three."_

 _Dexus took out his whip from his side and got it ready._

" _Those who would abuse weary travelers are unforgivable and must be punished."_

 _As Dexus tried to walk toward them, Li stopped him._

" _No, Dexus. They're just children."_

" _Since when did the rule exclude children from the punishment, Li?"_

" _Since the beginning. We are not savages."_

 _As the two argued, the boys ran off, leaving Nora and Lie alone._

" _Those street rats have no right to linger here! They need discipline!"_

" _Discipline and harassment are two different things, Dexus."_

 _Dexus growled at him as Lie ran over to the girl and comforted her with a hug before he asked her._

" _What's your name?"_

 _She was hesitant to answer before she finally opened up to him._

" _Nora."_

" _My name's Lie Ren."_

 _As he comforted her, he turned to his father and asked him._

" _Can we keep her, father?"_

 _Dexus leaned in to whisper in Li's ear._

" _If I were you, I'd say no."_

" _Good thing I'm not you. Bring her over."_

 _Lie grew happy with that as he took her arm and walked Nora over to his father, not noticing that she's trying to get loose. However, Li did and cleared his throat, causing her to look up to him in worry before he spoke._

" _Do you wish to run with the rest of them?"_

 _Nora tried to figure the answer out for herself, but was unable to as she only held her head down, waiting for whatever fate is waiting for her before he crouched down and spoke to her._

" _No need to be afraid. Kuroyuri will always be open to you. Even if the people there don't understand you. But we will. Always."_

 _Then, Nora felt so touched by his kind words that she hugged him as if he was her father before he returned the favor, much to Dexus' dismay as he scoffed and walked away, catching Lie's notice._

" _What is wrong with him, Father?"_

 _Li sighed reverently before he answered._

" _He's... lost his way."_

* * *

Back at the present, Dexus watched as Ruby stood in front of Cinder, the two of them circling each other as Mercury, Emerald, Salem, Gath, and Whitley watched as well. Cinder made the first move as she sent a blast of fire at Ruby. However, Ruby deflected it with her scythe, neutralizing it before she moved in towards Cinder with a diagonal slash, of which she was able to evade before glaring at her. However, her glare was met with a deadly smile from Ruby before she used the momentum to toss her scythe at her, the point of it piercing through her sleeve and trapping her on a nearby building before she lunged at her and gripped her neck, to Emerald's worry and Whitley and Mercury's shock while Salem, Dexus, and Gath grew intrigued as Ruby spoke to Cinder with a deadly smirk.

"I can't believe how weak you are. Looks like Salem will get rid of you after all..."

That made Cinder angry as her eye flamed up in anger before she fired a blast at Ruby, knocking her away before Cinder growled as she prepared two orange orbs on her hand before forging them into a giant orange sword, much to the opponent and the crowd's surprise. Then, as Cinder lunged at Ruby to strike, she reached her scythe before pointing it forward, the point now straight at her before an explosion of dust engulfed the area. After a moment, Ruby was found at the tipping point of her sword while Cinder was at the mercy of her scythe, the both of them waiting for another to make a move. However, Salem has seen all she needed to see.

"That's enough."

Then, Ruby and Cinder withdrew their weapons before turning to her as the former spoke up.

"How did we do?"

"You've both performed wonderfully. I'm really starting to see improvement from you, Cinder. Perhaps Ruby had just the motivation you needed."

Cinder grew surprised and proud to hear that before looking over to Ruby, who nodded to her with a smile before Salem spoke up.

"As for you, Ruby, it's impressive that you were able to hold your own against a Maiden, even if she wasn't at full strength. But if you're going to make Raven suffer, you can't just attack blindly. The cunning warrior doesn't attack the body nor does he attack the mind. You have to strike her where it hurts most. You must attack her heart."

Ruby got the sense in what she's talking about. But... the closest thing to her heart is... her sister. Of course, she hates Yang now, but still... that was a tall order on her part. And Salem spoke to Ruby again to remind her of it.

"Are we clear?"

Ruby sighed before answering.

"Yes. But how am I going to do it?"

As if to answer, Dexus walked up to her before he answered.

"I know better than anyone how to strike at the heart. It is how this village houses us today."

* * *

 _In Lie's home, Nora slept beside Lie as they only had one bed before they heard a Grimm roaring in the distance before An arrived in desperation._

" _Lie, Nora, get up. We have to go."_

" _Mother?"_

" _What's going on?"_

" _Now, right now, okay? Let's go!"_

 _In her rush, An took the children's hands before they stormed off. Just then, the front door opened up to reveal Li, panting out of breath before his wife noticed his tiredness._

" _Li!"_

" _An, What are you doing?! We need to hurry!"_

" _We can go to the safehouse!"_

" _No. I saw the beast. We need a Huntsman. And you three need to leave."_

" _What?"_

 _Then, the roar came again, scaring Lie and Nora before he spoke to her._

" _Mother..."_

 _An knelt down to him trying to calm them down._

" _It's ok, darling. Everything's ok."_

 _However, Dexus' voice spoke to her._

" _You are a terrible liar, An."_

 _With that, Dexus impaled her with his sword, earning a shocked look from Lie and Nora before Li shouted._

" _No!"_

 _Then, Dexus glared at Li before he spoke._

" _You brought this desolation to Kuroyuri, Li. She got what she deserved. And so will you..."_

 _At that moment, the building collapsed as the unknown Grimm roared._

 _When Lie woke up next, he saw himself and Nora being carried by Li to head outside of the village._

" _Father? What... where's Mother?"_

 _He didn't bother answering as he continued to run, a mark of blood on his left eye, concerning him even more._

" _What's going on?! Where's Mother?!"_

 _Far away, Dexus saw him running amidst the panicked people before preparing a dark purple orb and firing it at him, causing him to drop the children as he tripped._

" _Father!"_

 _Then, Dexus approached him shouting in anger._

" _Stand up and fight, coward!"_

 _His father turned toward Lie before he spoke to him._

" _Lie, you have to take Nora and run."_

 _He only crawled to his father's side before he spoke to him out of fear._

" _No. Don't. Please. Get up!"_

 _Then, Dexus shouted again._

" _If you don't fight me, I'll end your children's lives!"_

 _Li spoke to his son one more time to convince him._

" _Listen to me, son. You have to be brave now. Do you understand?"_

" _No, please. Please, we can't!"_

 _As Dexus walked closer, Nora started to wake before Li handed his son the dagger._

" _Yes, you can!"_

 _He then shoved him away before Nora got jolted back awake to see Dexus angrily glaring at Li as he spoke to his son._

" _Sometimes the worst action to take... is no action at all. Take action, son."_

 _Lie just watched as he stood up on his feet before his father spoke._

" _Your mother and I love you."_

 _Lie didn't want him to go away so soon before he began to plead._

" _Father..."_

 _Just then, a giant Knuckelavee Grimm stomped near them beside Dexus before he spoke._

" _It's about time you've decided to show your spine."_

 _Lie prepared to fire his arrows at the beast while he shouted to the children._

" _Run!"_

 _Then, they were forced to take off as Li shouted in vain to stop it before he was stomped on and trapped by its hoof as he looked up to Dexus._

" _How could you...? I took you in... we were brothers..."_

 _Dexus flouted his words as he spoke darkly._

" _No. We were never blood. You should've killed me when you had the chance."_

 _Then, Dexus fired a dark purple blast at Li, earning his final scream of agony as the children ran._

* * *

"I hit that coward where it hurt him, and in the end I took his life and his village, securing this desolate place as our main haven."

Ruby would've been frightened to hear this tale, but seeing how it turned out for the Grimm and the hybrids, she felt uplifted by it.

"Wow. I never thought... that I'd ever be happy to hear that. I would've been scared out of my mind, but... I'm not."

Salem spoke next to Ruby as she put her hand on her cheek.

"That's because you are where you are meant to be, my rose. You're finally home."

* * *

Far away at the mountains, Ren and Nora found a cave up ahead before he spoke.

"We never get the easy path, do we?"

"Easy's no fun anyway."

Then, she noticed Ren's worries look before she spoke to him.

"You okay?"

He only looked back to her and nodded in response.

"And you?"

"I've got you here, don't I? Come on. There's more than one way up a mountain."

And she couldn't be more right as she found a strange detail about a cave before Ren heard thunder from far away and Nora pointed out said detail to Ren.

"Hey! There's wind blowing out of this cave! Think it might lead to the peak?"

"I suppose there's only one way to find—"

Suddenly, a flag flew into Ren's face before Nora giggled, much to his slight annoyance.

"Yes, yes. Very funny."

Then, he took a closer look at the flag that hit him before Nora spoke to him.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"This is the symbol for Shion village."

"Shion? But that's... that's the village where we found the Huntsman. It's weeks away from here!"

Then, a familiar voice spoke to her.

"Perhaps to you."

Then, they turned to see Abraham and two of the prisoners that were infected before beside him, except their eyes and skin color had now returned to a decent color.

"But for us, it takes nary a day's journey from there to here."

Ren and Nora recognized him from Oniyuri and were, believe it or not, surprised to see him.

"Abraham?!"

"But I thought you were staying behind."

"That was the plan. I'll explain on the way. Come."

As they followed him, Abraham gave the news of what had happened as they went deeper.

"Since we last met, I've managed to awaken these two to their senses. Since then, we've been spying on Salem and her spies for intel. In the process, we heard the news of your friend's capture from Salem's beast. He called himself Gath."

Nora grew confused at the name.

"Gath?"

"The first Grimm to evolve since it landed here. We've been trying to rescue as many prisoners as we could, but we were only able to save a handful from Salem's spell."

When they got in the cave, they noticed a whole space crowded with purified Grimm hybrids as they looked on in amazement. The hybrids were scanning the environment, however, rather than taking shelter, causing Abraham to notice their confusion.

"What are they doing?"

"They're just scouting the area to determine what occurred here. Other than the black sludge left over, all we found was this arrow, countless weapons laid to rest, and those hoofprints."

He then noticed a few trees shaking before Ren grew concerned.

"Judging from its contents, and the trees trembling, they are most recent."

"No..."

Noticing his fear, Nora held his hand before she spoke to Abraham.

"So, what exactly is your plan?"

"As you know, we've been spying on Salem for intel. At this very moment, we're waiting for the right time to strike."

Just then, a sentry came in to speak to him.

"General! General!"

Ren and Nora grew surprised about his title.

"General?"

"For real?"

"Yes, soldier. What is it?"

"We have some bad news."

He presented him a scroll, depicting how Ruby has now begun to act on Salem's behalf as he grew aghast at this.

"No... It can't be!"

Ren grew concerned at what news he'd received.

"What's going on?"

"Your friend... is acting on Salem's side. She's one of them now."

That made Ren and Nora widen their eyes in fear before the Nuckelavee roared in the background.


	12. Broken Family

**A/N: Hello, again. Just a heads-up in this one. Penny's creator, Dr. Polendina, will be voiced by Kelsey Grammer in this story and the next. As to what his presence entails, I'm sure you would make a good guess. And if you don't, you can read on, either way. After the next chapter, though, there'll be an origin chapter for Raider Serose. That's all I am willing to reveal as of this moment. Until then, enjoy. :)**

 **Chapter 11:** "Broken Family"

At Kuroyuri, Ruby was seen walking out of a building in a new attire consisting of a black, long-sleeved shirt, followed by black pants with dark high heels sans cape as she headed toward Salem, who smiled at her with both of her hands behind her back.

"I've been waiting for you, my rose."

"What is it?"

"As it happens, I've got something special just for you."

Salem revealed her hands to show Ruby a white robe with red coloring on the inside, causing her eyes to widen in surprise.

"Is that...?"

"Yes. Your mother's robe. After her passing, I felt it fitting to at least get a reminder. But now... it belongs to you."

Ruby held her hands out before Salem handed the robe to her, letting the girl wrap it around her shirt and clip it together before she smiled at her.

"Thank you. It really means a lot to me."

Just then, Tyrian walked toward her and Salem whimpering before collapsing and bowing as he muttered, confusing the girl.

"What's wrong with him?"

"That's what we're going to find out. Tyrian!"

Then, Tyrian stopped his muttering and sat up before she spoke to him.

"Your task... were you successful?"

Tyrian looked at her nervously before he answered.

"N-no. But-but hope is not lost! T-The Spring Maiden will find us here! She will not be a nuisance to you any longer, no... no longer. H-H-Have I done well? Have I pleased you?"

Salem only walked away from him before speaking.

"The last eye is blinded... you disappoint me."

As she walked away, Ruby turned to the cringing Tyrian before she spoke to him.

"Well, for what it's worth, at least she'll come to us. You did your best."

Tyrian felt strangely comforted by the girl's words as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet."

Ruby then summoned her Crescent Rose, only there's an additional black coloring at another end of it with another blade pointing outward before she spoke again.

"I still need Raven to pay me back."

* * *

At Patch, Raven sat at the table as she was holding her cup, her father and daughter just being told of what happened to Ruby since they've been gone up until her capture. Yang was no doubt becoming more and more furious at her.

"So, Ruby was just captured by someone working for Salem, and you didn't do anything to stop him?!"

"I wasn't in the village at the time. I was making sure I wasn't followed."

Taiyang spoke up next.

"By your brother?"

"No. Crimson. He's far away at Menagerie, but... I can't know for sure when he'll strike..."

Yang spoke up next, clearly unrelenting in venting her frustrations on her.

"At you? At us? What do you really want, Mom?! You expect us to help you hide like a coward?!"

Raven only shook her head in reverence.

"No. I expect you to help me make it right. An... acquaintance of mine, Raider Serose, told me that I shouldn't keep running away, that it only puts more targets on the backs of everyone I care about. Especially you."

Taiyang didn't find it helpful that she took advice from a stranger.

"Well, I'm sure Qrow told you the same thing lots of times, but why did you decide to listen to _him_?"

"Raider... showed me things I wish I never saw."

Raven turned to her daughter as she spoke of what she'd witnessed in her head.

"I saw my brother... Summer's brother digging his claws into you, Yang. You can't imagine how it scared me to death!"

"That possibility could've happened while you were away!"

"You don't think I know that?! That's part of the reason I'm here. I... I meant what I said. I need your help to make it right. I can't expect you to forgive me after what I made you go through alone, but..."

At this point, Raven was beginning to cry as tears manifested themselves.

"It doesn't change the fact that I regret doing what I did to you. To Summer, even. I have a responsibility, now. And I can't live up to that without you! Please... I need your help..."

As Raven sobbed on her arms, Taiyang walked up to her before he put his arm around her and spoke.

"All you had to do was ask."

Raven looked up to him in surprise, confused at the kindness he displayed after being abandoned for more than a decade.

"Why... how can you be so kind to me after what I put you through? What I put our daughter through?"

Yang found it curious as well, but out of spite.

"Good question."

"Well, like I said, everybody's got their own faults. You just overcame yours just to warn us about Ruby and Salem, let alone speak to us. If that isn't being humble, I don't know what is."

"So... you're forgiving me?"

Yang crossed her arms in anger before answering.

"You're not speaking for me."

"Yeah, Raven. We are."

"I just said you're not speaking for me!"

"But... it's gonna take a long time for us to trust you again, Yang especially."

Hearing this, it did sound more like the present situation to Yang as she blinked her eyes and shrugged.

"Oh. Yeah, that's more like it."

"Thank you. I'll do everything I can to get that trust back."

* * *

Later, after having said their goodbyes to Taiyang, Yang was outside of the house, spray painting her new arm to have colors that represent her Ember Celica as Raven watched and grew impressed with the design. Then, she put them on as well as a brown coat over her orange top as she turned to her mother.

"So... how are we gonna get to Kuroyuri?"

"My Semblance lets me open a portal to someone I'm close to. Believe it or not, it's Qrow. He's there, too."

Yang then looked back to her motorcycle before turning to her mother.

"Well, that cuts out the middleman."

Then, Raven opened a portal with her sword before turning to her daughter.

"Are you sure you're really ready for this? I mean... this isn't just one of her lackeys. Salem will be there, too."

"The only thing I care about right now is making sure Ruby is safe."

"I figured as much. But you do realize I'll be going with you."

"Really? Could've fooled me. You did always run from her."

Raven felt hurt by what she said before realizing that she was doing an inside joke and smiled.

"Very funny."

With that, mother and daughter entered the portal before it closed up.

* * *

At Atlas, Logan, Weiss and Mount were walking within the halls of Atlas Academy as the first of the three asked her about it.

"So, how are we supposed to find your sister?"

"We can ask Ironwood. If she's somewhere in Remnant, he's the first to know."

"Oh. Neat."

When they got to the headquarters, Ironwood was still listening to the voice clip of Gath from the incident, trying to locate the same vocal patterns.

"Have you found anything?"

"Nowhere in Atlas, sir. But if it's come up anywhere in Remnant..."

Then, they found a voiced signal near the borders of Mistral.

"Wait. We've got something."

"Pull it up."

Then, the voice spoke up followed by a feminine voice.

" _And I'm not just talking about your 'friends'. Your sister... Yang, was it? She never bothered to travel with you. Does she even care about you anymore?"_

Upon hearing Yang's name, Weiss began to know who the Grimm was talking to as she whispered.

"Ruby..."

Logan grew confused before he asked in a whisper.

"Huh? Who's Ruby?"

" _I see what you're doing. You're trying to make me lose hope. So that I can be your prisoner. Well, guess what? Fat chance! You can never break me, even if you tried."_

Hearing her voice, Logan thought it was a little girl before he whispered again.

"Really? Ruby is a little girl?"

Weiss shushed him as Gath's voice continued.

" _Because you're already broken. Since the Fall of Beacon, you've been blaming yourself constantly for Penny's death."_

Logan felt it weird because Pyrrha didn't sound like that yet she was the one blaming herself each time.

"Wait. Pyrrha's always been doing that."

" _Ah, yes... I know very well how it tortured you that you weren't able to stop it. Fact is, we don't need to break you. It's already happened."_

Just then, the monitor confirmed it was a match before one of the scientists spoke to Ironwood.

"We found the signal, sir. It's a match."

"Then send backup to Winter in that area ASAP. If that Grimm really is more evolved..."

Weiss spoke up to Ironwood to get his attention and the scientists'.

"Then she'll need all the help she can get."

Ironwood turned to see Weiss, Logan, and Mount before he nodded to her as if expecting her.

"That's right. Dr. Polendina?"

Then, a man with white hair around his bald head stood up before speaking to him.

"Ah, yes, General?"

"I need you to show these three their new partner."

Having witnessed her dismantling at Vytal Festival, he was hesitant.

"But, General, she's not ready yet."

"How soon until she is?"

That made him rethink his standing as he looked at his watch and showed five minutes going down.

"Well, I'd say five minutes, sir."

"Then it's fine."

"Alright. Come with me, all."

When they got to another room, Dr. Polendina showed Weiss, Logan, and Mount a surprisingly familiar face.

"I know this isn't a proper introduction, but we're on thin ice with this new Grimm. So... allow me to introduce Project: Persephone. But, of course, you already know her... as Penny."

When the pod opened up, smoke billowed out of it before it showed her many... changes. For instance, she didn't have a bow on her head, her auburn hair was shorter with a few bangs in between her eyes, and she wore a white dress with a black and glowing green corset around her as well as a glowing black and green tie with many swords resembling that of a Knight's beside her before Weiss and Mount put on a look of surprise while Logan got really giddy, thinking about how happy Pyrrha would be.

"Oh-ho-ho! Wait till Pyrrha sees you!"

* * *

At Menagerie, Sun was waking up on the sofa, recovering from Crimson's seemingly baseless and unplanned attack, to see Blake looking at the floor solemnly, reminded of how her friends were put in danger in the first place.

"Blake?"

"This... is why, Sun. This is why I left them all behind."

"What are you... wait, where am I?"

"I said it before and I'll say it again. I am done seeing my friends hurt because of me."

"Blake..."

"Shut up! Do you think I like being alone? Every day... every day I think about them. Ruby, Weiss, Yang, they were my friends! I loved them like I never thought I could love anybody. And I hope they hate me for leaving."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do! Everyone thinks they can help me, but they can't. You saw Crimson last night, and he didn't even give you a second thought!"

"Yeah. Leaving everyone's fate to a coin? Kinda creepy."

"No. No more. They're better off without me. I made my choices and I'll deal with the consequences because they belong to me."

Sun decided to try to help her remember what her Father said to her. In truth, he was listening in the whole time the other night, but he wanted to be respectful about it.

"You think you're being selfless, but you're not. Yeah, that Crimson guy got me pretty good. But I'd do it all again if it meant protecting you. And I could promise Yang would say the same. You can make your own choices, sure. But you don't get to make ours. When your friends fight for you, it's because we want to. So _stop_ pushing us out! It hurts more than anything the bad guys could ever do to us. For all I know, you're the one who hurt Yang the most, not Adam."

Blake turned her head away before she spoke solemnly.

"Why do you think I hope they hate me?"

"But, if it makes you feel any better, the next time I go up against Bizarro-Raider, it won't be for you— it'll be to get even."

Then, Sun pulled a muscle from where the laceration was made before Blake giggled and smiled.

"My hero."

Suddenly, the door fell with Kali on top of it and Ghira beside her.

"Oh! Oh, dear, would you look at that, he's awake! Thank goodness!"

Ghira embarrassedly put his hand on his face.

"Kali, please."

"Mom!"

"Hey, Mrs. B."

Blake then stomped up to her mother in flustered anger.

"What are you doing?!"

"Well, Sweetheart, your father needed to speak with the two of you."

"It wasn't the White Fang that attacked you last night."

"Huh?"

"Sun, do you have that scroll?"

Sun looked into his pocket as per Ghira's request and got it out.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I got it."

Sun then set the scroll onto the table as he spoke.

"There's a reason Crimson wanted that scroll. And we're going to find out why."

Then, Ghira went to the assignment and read it to find out a terrifying plan.

"Oh, no. I'm afraid you were right to be suspicious."

Blake got worried as to what it meant.

"What do you mean?"

"Adam Taurus is planning to overthrow the leader of the White Fang, and stage a full-on Attack on Haven Academy. If Crimson ever found this scroll, there's no telling what he could've done. Either way, it would be the Fall of Beacon all over again."

Sun and Blake held their heads down before he spoke.

"Not if we destroy the White Fang once and for all."

Blake, however, being aware of its history before its descension into violence, had a different proposal as she stood up.

"No. We're not going to destroy the White Fang. We're going to take it back."

* * *

At Kuroyuri, Raider, Qrow, Jaune, and Pyrrha were walking toward the entrance as Salem noticed.

"Ah. Looks like we have company."

Ruby only scowled when she didn't notice Raven.

"But she isn't here."

"Patience, my rose. She'll come."

At the same time, Nora and Ren were running to Kuroyuri with Abraham and his legion behind them. As they ran, Ren was desperate to get them out before the Nuckelavee could visit upon them.

"Not again, not again..."

Nora and Abraham, however, were still stuck on Ruby's apparent betrayal.

"How could she join Salem, Abraham?!"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out. And if we have to go to war, then so be it!"

So, they ran until they saw Raider, Qrow, Pyrrha, And Jaune ahead of them before they came to a halt and got their breath, Salem and her faction taking notice of it as well.

"Well, well, well. Even more company."

Ruby was getting impatient for her to come as she tensed her hand.

"But where is she?"

Just then, a portal opened up in front of them to reveal Raven and Yang emerging before it closed, catching Ruby's attention with a scowl at the both of them. Yang noticed her alongside Salem and the others in shock as she widened her eyes.

"Ruby?!"

Ruby noticed her too before she spoke.

"Hello, Sister."

"What are you doing with Salem?"

"You can only blame yourself, Yang. You should've been there for me, but you weren't! You were still sulking over a stupid arm! While you did that, I saw how cruel the world is! Nothing will get better!"

"That's not true. Bad things may happen, but..."

"Shut up! I'm tired of you talking!"

Mercury was surprised to see her act that way to her and developed a liking to her considering what Yang did to his legs at the Vytal Festival before he whispered to Emerald.

"Call me crazy, but I'm starting to like her."

Yang was petrified to hear Ruby talk that way to her.

"What's happened to you?"

"I grew up. Like you told me to do. And I made some new friends. Not that you cared."

Then, they heard clopping from far away, causing Ren to become petrified.

"No..."

Salem turned to the source and spoke.

"And speaking of friends... this one just arrived."

That "friend" appeared to be a black horse with another body on its back with horns on its head before it gasped for air and roared, forcing Abraham to action.

"So... this is war."

 **A/N: I bet you were kinda expecting Penny to return. If you weren't I'll bet it was a good surprise. :) Either way, I was inspired to add in this design for Penny upon seeing the art from dishwasher1910. All rights go to him for the art and design, so props to him.**


	13. Tainted Rose

**A/N: There we go! The ultimate climax at Kuroyuri! I didn't expect to take so long making this chapter. Then again, it was a war sequence, so I tried to add as much as possible about the teams before my personal deadline. But don't worry. It won't be the end of my story just yet. And the next episode will show Ruby coming to grips with her decisions in the past and what led her to become what she is after the war (BTW, not the Great War). That will be entangled in my Origin chapter for Raider. That's all I can be willing to reveal, but until then, enjoy. :)**

 **Chapter 12:** "Tainted Rose"

Outside the village, Winter and her team were headed to Kuroyuri where Ironwood told her that the voice that dismembered Jacques and gave a message to Atlas would be. As she went to scout the area, she heard a roar from a great distance and could immediately tell what made the noise.

"Grimm."

She then turned to an Atlesian soldier before she spoke to him.

"You there, find out what's going on down there."

"Yes, ma'am."

When the soldier looked, he was stunned by what he saw: a giant Nuckelavee Grimm behind Salem and her faction comprised of Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, Gath, Tyrian, Neo, Dexus, Ruby, Whitley, and an army of Grimm hybrids facing off against Team JNPR, Raider, Qrow, Raven, Yang, Abraham, and his own army of hybrids before he gasped.

"Winter... you need to see this."

He passed the binoculars to Winter, who saw for it herself and grew just as shocked.

"No way... we're standing in the middle of a war zone..."

Just then, Ironwood spoke to Winter via communicator.

"Winter, do you copy?"

"Yes, sir. We're witnessing a war zone at Kuroyuri. We need backup."

"Already done. And you may be surprised about who."

"Well, who's coming?"

"Your sister."

Winter put on a look of shock, seeing as she was supposed to be the heir to the SDC. Something must've changed since her father's dismemberment and disfigurement.

"Weiss...?"

* * *

At the village, Salem spoke to Raven.

"So, the coward has finally decided to play tough."

"Yeah. I had to get a good wake-up call from someone I know. And it's thanks to that I'm standing here. What about you? You keep sending your lackeys in to fight your own battles, or worse take the people we know and love into our enemies. Well, no more. This time, it's your turn to fight."

Salem only sighed in disappointment toward her.

"Does this really have to end in violence? I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a loved one. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Don't even try it, Salem. I've put it behind me."

"Oh, but what about your niece or your brother? Did _they_ put it behind _them_?"

Qrow looked to Raven in confusion before he asked her.

"Raven, what is she talking about?"

Then, Ruby spoke up next toward Raven in spite.

"Go ahead, Raven. Tell them how it happened. Tell them who looked my mom in the eye, the person who trusted her, and killed her! Tell them who really killed Summer Rose!"

Raven clenched her fist before she took a deep breath, only angering Ruby with her prolonged silence.

"Tell them!"

Raven looked toward Ruby before she answered.

"I did."

Hearing this, the whole group stood aghast and shocked before Pyrrha spoke to her.

"That... that can't be true. Tell us it's not true."

Raven, however, held her head down in shame as she confirmed it.

"It's true..."

Hearing those words, Pyrrha gasped and Yang felt bad for her as Raider sighed while the rest of the team showed a look of spite toward her, but none bigger than Qrow's. Letting it sink in, Qrow began growling and readying his sword to strike at her before Raider stepped in front of him.

"No, Qrow. Don't you see what she's doing? She's trying to divide us."

Qrow could care less about it as he snarled at Raider.

"Did you know?"

Raider was hesitant to answer before he spoke.

"I didn't know it was her."

"Don't lie to me, Raider. I know you have that gazing semblance. Did you know?"

Finally, he decided to be straight with him.

"Yes."

Qrow began to get angry as he looked to Ruby then toward Yang as he spoke menacingly to her.

"She's right, you know. Nothing is going to get better. And she's the whole reason for this! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Then, Qrow lunged toward Raven to attack her, only for her to block his sword with her own before taking off to a rooftop as Qrow and Raider followed suit for their own reasons. Then, the Nuckelavee began its own assault as it knocked Jaune and Pyrrha away with its long arm, leaving only Yang to face Ruby who pointed her double-bladed scythe at her.

"I'm going to enjoy making you scream."

* * *

Abraham, seeing the commotion taking place, urged his men to battle.

"Full speed ahead!"

Then, he, Ren, Nora, and the army charged toward Kuroyuri's entrance as Gath gave an order to his own army.

"Bring them down!"

Then, the corrupted hybrids charged at the purified ones as the leaders of both parties collided with each other and pushed their hands forward, one trying to beat the other as Ren and Nora looked to see the Nuckelavee going after Jaune with his long arm before it hit the ground by the tree. As it darted over to Jaune and Pyrrha, Ren was left with no other choice but to use his semblance as a pink aura came over him and the same happened to Jaune and Pyrrha, momentarily changing their skin color to a noir state before Ren shouted to them.

"Just get to safety!"

The two of them nodded before Nora shot Dust bullets at the Nuckelavee, getting its attention before they got to a safe place. Once they did, Pyrrha and Jaune noticed Cinder watching alongside Salem and instantly grew wrought with her before he tried to walk toward her before Pyrrha caught him.

"No, Jaune. I have to do this."

"What? But, Pyrrha—"

"I don't want to hear it, Jaune. Even if you do kill her, the powers will just fade away. It has to be me."

"But... what about your destiny? To be a great Huntress?"

"I have a new destiny now. I have to be the Fall Maiden."

Jaune hesitated for a moment before he nodded back to her in understanding.

"Okay. Be careful."

"You too."

With that, Pyrrha stepped toward Cinder before she shouted to her.

"Cinder!"

Cinder turned to notice her and grinned, remembering how easily she brought her to her knees the last time.

"Well, well... what's left of the Fall Maiden has finally come back to accept her fate."

"Yes. She has. But not to the fate you think."

"Hmm?"

"What do you think I've been doing the last few months since the Fall of Beacon? Looking for Raider wasn't the only thing I was doing."

With that, Pyrrha demonstrated this as she placed her hands in front of her with an orange orb around them before forging themselves back into her sword and shield similar to the ones she lost before as Cinder smirked.

"I hoped that would be the case."

Then, Cinder prepared two black swords with orange linings, one for each hand before darting toward her and clashing together to make a shockwave that decimated most of the buildings in Kuroyuri before Nora got pushed away by one of the Nuckelavee's long arms before Ren shot at it. However, the Nuckelavee's hands managed to catch them and hold Ren in place for Dexus to prepare to fire, only for Jaune to notice this and knock him away with his shield, shoving him away before he spoke to the others.

"Guys! Keep moving, go in a circle!"

Then, Nora shot Dust bullets at the Nuckelavee, forcing it to let go of Ren before it attempted to attack the team with its hands, but to no avail as Jaune sliced its leg, displeasing it. After which, it simply kicked him away before Jaune had to draw his sword away for a moment before drawing it back out with an upgrade and charged back in. As he dodged the Nuckelavee's hooves, he sliced another leg successfully, this time causing it to be in pain as it backed away. The body on top of the horse's backside hissed before it spun around like a fan, swatting at the team and knocking only two of the three away. After that, it called back its arms before the spikes on its back protruded farther as it then let out a shrill shriek that made Jaune cover his ears while Ren leaped on to the tree for a planned assault. However, Dexus saw this and spoke to the creature.

"Behind you!"

The creature noticed Ren, thanks to Dexus' warning before he caught the boy and pinned him to a building before Dexus walked up to him with a smirk.

"Look at how you've grown, boy. However, you're still as weak as your father. Get rid of him."

Nora noticed this and used her hammer to shoot at the ground and head towards Ren as the Nuckelavee lurched his other hand to him only for Nora's hammer to get in the way and get stuck on the wall above him. Ren looked back to the creature before looking above him to see Nora hanging on her hammer. When she looked down to Ren, she grew embarrassed and held her legs together.

"Stop looking!"

"Guh!"

On that same building, Qrow was mercilessly slamming his blade on Raven's, too angry to think through.

"How could you do this to our families, Raven?! To our team?!"

"I thought I was doing the right thing back then!"

"YOU WERE DEAD WRONG!"

Finally, Qrow slashed at her leg, causing her to squeal in pain, catching the Nuckelavee's notice before it took Nora and slammed her to the ground, breaking her aura in the process before going toward Raven, only for Raider to intercept and push it back before going back to fight Qrow as he clashed Qrow's Harbinger with his Armageddon.

"Think straight, Qrow! Raven is trying to become a better person after what she did! I saw to it myself!"

"Oh, now you're taking _her_ side?!"

Qrow angrily shoved his Armageddon away before moving in for an overhead slice as it turned into a scythe, to which Raider was able to block before he spoke to him.

"Look around you, Qrow! You're becoming what you swore you'd never become: a pawn of Salem!"

As he said those words, Qrow looked to see Ren angrily headed toward the Nuckelavee only to be flung toward Nora. Next, he saw Abraham fighting Gath as he spoke.

"You are nothing!"

He proceeded to punch Abraham in the face, who retaliated with an uppercut to his chin before they tried to push one another again.

"I am a savior of the lost flock! Here, I honor my oath to protect the innocent! Even from you!"

After which, Qrow noticed Pyrrha going against Cinder as she thrusted her two swords to stab Pyrrha, only for her to block with her shield, causing a loud reverberation that not only destroyed the swords, but also her shield as the both of them were blown away. Then, he saw Ruby fighting the distraught Yang out of the same bitterness he displayed toward Raven.

"You were supposed to be sister! And you abandoned me!"

Yang was barely able to dodge her scythe, getting a scratch on her arm before Ruby moved in to slice her diagonally, only for her robot arm to catch it and thrust it back in desperation before Yang tried to reason with her.

"Ruby! I know what I did to you, and I'm sorry!"

"It's too late for that! I HATE YOU!"

Hearing those two words echo in his mind utterly shocked Qrow before he turned to Raider.

"She's using all of us to get what she wants, Qrow. Don't let her use you, too."

With that, Qrow took a deep breath before he removed Harbinger from Armageddon and spoke to him.

"Fine. But don't think this means I forgive her."

"Noted. Now, let's stop this madness."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ren got up angrily as the Nuckelavee brushed its front claw on the floor before Nora shoved him under the building as it neighed. For a while, nothing seemed to have happened before Ren looked to see Jaune holding it back a moment prior to it shoving him away. Ren then ran toward the creature out of hate and anger before Nora caught his arm.

"Nora, let go! Nora! They're going to get hurt if we don't—"

Nora swiftly slapped Ren on the face in response before he looked to her.

"No. I won't let you kill yourself like this. After everything we've been through, I won't let it end. Not like this."

Then, Ren remembered exactly what they'd gone through that night following his father's death.

* * *

 _Ren and Nora ran as far as they could until they got under a building as countless nevermores swarmed the air. Amidst the chaos of it all, Nora was sobbing in fear while Ren cried in sadness before a moment later, his semblance came over him and calmed him down before he spoke to her._

" _We have to be brave."_

 _Then, Nora hugged him, the semblance now passing over to her as well before the giant nevermore that towered above them tried looking, only to find nothing as the negative feelings were nowhere to be found. Its search proving fruitless, it flew away before the Nuckelavee simply strolled along the building next, having the same luck as the nevermore. Nora turned to Ren in fear._

" _I'm scared."_

" _Me too."_

* * *

That made Ren remember the dagger his father gave him before he also remembered the words he spoke to Nora.

" _We'll keep each other safe."_

Then, Nora placed her hand over the handle as she spoke to him.

"We can do this."

Ren understood her words before he nodded in determination.

* * *

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was moving in close to strike Cinder, only for her to go band weave and occasionally use her powers to block it before knocking her away to the ground while causing her to lose the sword before Cinder lurched her Grimm arm toward Pyrrha, who was struggling to breathe as it clamped in her throat while taking her powers away with the bright light trailing down its long reach. Then, Pyrrha used all the strength she could before summoning her sword again and slicing her arm, causing her to exclaim before it fell to the floor. Taking advantage of the lapse, Pyrrha moved in closer to her before impaling her in the heart. As Cinder struggled to breathe, Pyrrha glared at her.

"You took my friend's power away. I'm taking it back."

She then plunged it deeper before she groaned louder before slowly putting on a smile, earning her confusion.

"You should've gone for the head."

However, Pyrrha got the sense in what she meant and just in time as the hand started lunging at her back, forcing her to move out of the way before it ended up stabbing Cinder instead. Pyrrha, having seen the aftermath walked over to her.

"I feel bad for you. You wanted to become powerful, and you ended up destroying yourself in pursuit of it. Maybe you're not worthy after all."

Cinder gave a raspy inhale before she finally passed away with a thud, much to the horror of Emerald and Mercury before Pyrrha held her bridal style and spoke to her gently.

"Wherever you go next... I hope you find what you're looking for."

Emerald was trembling as tears streamed down her eyes while Mercury tried to reach her.

"Emerald, we have to go."

Emerald didn't move before she breathed raggedly, catching his worry.

"Emerald!"

Emerald then opened her eyes causing Pyrrha to turn to see another Cinder speaking to her.

"You don't have to worry about that."

She then turned to see Cinder lurching her claw at her before she caught it and tossed her away before looking to see the dead body disappear. That gave Pyrrha the answer as to what really happened.

"So, it was an illusion."

Then, Pyrrha summoned her shield back as well as calling picking up her sword.

"That was close, but you'll have to do better than that."

* * *

Meanwhile, Abraham gripped Gath by his waist and tossed him away before joining the rest of Team JNPR and noticing Ren with his dagger.

"Ren, Jaune and I can take care of its arms."

Nora spoke next before Ren.

"I'll take care of the horse."

"And I'll take care of the rest."

Then, Nora took off to the top of a building before the Nuckelavee roared as it lurched his hand at Abraham who swiftly avoided it before getting out his sword and impaling it to the ground before it screeched in pain as it also got hit by the dagger from Ren. Upon noticing Jaune, it lurched its hand to him, only for Ren to trap it with Jaune's shield.

"Now!"

Jaune didn't hesitate to stab it through before Ren called over to Nora.

"Nora!"

She took her cue as she fell down the building with a smirk before slamming her hammer on the horse's head, causing the body sticking out of its back to shriek in agony before Ren took the dagger from it as the Grimm lashed out with a roar at his face. However, it didn't faze him one bit before he flipped it to slash as he thought to himself.

" _For my mother."_

He then slashed at its arm, earning its pained roar before holding it in place.

" _For my father."_

It then roared in retaliation as he stood emotionless.

" _For all those that you've slain."_

The Nuckelavee's shriek got worse upon him slicing its chest horizontally before he closed his eyes.

"For myself."

Then, to finish him off, he cleaved off its head before it became a dark mist that retreated into the comet as Ren took a deep breath. However, Dexus only laughed at his decision.

"You fool. Don't you know what happens when you slay a Grimm? The Tenebris Comet restores them! Stronger, smarter, and more powerful than you!"

"What?!"

To prove this, the comet opened up to reveal another Knuckelavee similar to the one slain, much to Ren's horror.

"No..."

Dexus continued to speak onward before he pointed to Ruby and Yang.

"And that's not all! Just look there!"

Then, the whole group noticed Ruby pointing her Crimson Rose at Yang, who's gained more cuts and bruises on her body while her aura was broken, as she spoke to her.

"Any last words, sister?"

Yang panted heavily before she answered heartbroken

"Yeah. You know what I just realized? You're not Ruby Rose!"

Ruby looked at her confusedly before she continued.

"The Ruby I knew was so positive and gave everyone the courage to go on. But you... you're taking all of that away. For all I know... you could've killed her."

Then, Ruby suddenly plunged her scythe into Yang's belly, causing those in the war zone, friend or foe, to look upon such a frightening scene as Ruby spoke to her coldly.

"I didn't kill her. You did."

Then, she fired her Crimson Rose toward the ground, pushing Yang off of the building and to the ground, earning her mother's worry and fear as she ran over to her.

"Yang!"

Pyrrha then heard Cinder's laughter before she spoke to her sinisterly.

"You're really going to let her die, too?"

Pyrrha growled as she shoved Cinder away and went after her while Raven and Qrow tended to Yang.

"Yang... please, no. Don't leave me... I'm so sorry..."

Ruby, however, was sick of her apology after what happened to her mother before she shouted at her.

"SHUT UP!"

Raven looked at her in her distraught as she descended from the building.

"You don't get to apologize! Not after what you did to my mother!"

Raven was utterly shocked at the person she'd become before she spoke to Ruby angrily.

"How could you?! How could you spit on your mother's grave and disregard everything she stood for?!"

"Look who's talking! You killed your best friend! She was the one person who trusted you, and you didn't even care about that! She disgusted you! Yang deserved what happened to her for abandoning me, and so do you for taking my mother away from me!"

Raven then looked toward Salem who smiled at her before she growled.

"You! You killed my daughter! You're going to pay!"

Then, Raven took off angrily as she yelled at the top of her lungs before Ruby shoved her away and got her scythe ready.

"If you want Salem, you'll have to go through me!"

* * *

As the conflict went down, Raider caught up to Qrow and found out what Ruby had done before he turned to him.

"Did she actually do that?"

"I'm afraid so."

Then, Raider knelt down to her.

"She's not out yet. I can still save her."

"How?"

Then, Raider demonstrated his powers as his silver aura came over Yang before he spoke to Qrow.

"What do you think I've been doing for 10 years?"

Then, they found themselves surrounded by countless Grimm hybrids before Nora, Ren, Jaune, and Abraham arrived to keep them at bay.

"We'll keep those creeps at bay!"

"You focus on bringing her back!"

Then, Jaune joined in to help Raider.

"How did you know that was my semblance?"

"That's rhetorical, right?"

Then, Jaune passed his aura onto her as well adding a blonde aura to blend with the silver one.

* * *

Meanwhile, Raven angrily spoke to Ruby.

"Yang was right. You're not the real Ruby Rose. As naive as she was, she never pretended that she cared about her friends. She actually did. But you... you're just a pawn of Salem."

Ruby glared at her back before speaking to her.

"And whose fault was that?"

That made Raven's red eyes flame up before she forged a giant blue sword from her powers and darted to her and tried to attack her with her sword before she collided it with her scythe. This time, though, Ruby was on equal footing with a Maiden, earning Raven's surprise before Ruby grinned back at her and shoved her away. Raven was able to recover and land safely on the ground before Ruby lunged at her overhead with her scythe and Raven blocked it with the sword beneath it before she pushed her up into the air and moved in to strike her down. However, Ruby had enough time to counter, barely, before she ended up getting shoved back to the ground and Raven darted to her before the two slammed into the ground, unaware that Winter was witnessing the war before she communicated to Ironwood.

"Sir, the war's getting worse. Where is that backup?!"

"It should arrive any moment now."

At the village, both Ruby and Raven's auras were starting to wear themselves out as they crackled before Raven stood up and spoke to her.

"Had enough yet?"

"Never! I refuse to lose to a coward like you!"

"Just give up, Ruby. I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have. It's over."

Then, Ruby noticed the Tenebris Comet behind her before she smirked as her silver eyes began to glow.

"Or is it?"

Then, she leapt backward into the comet, to her shock before the comet stuck its tendrils into her, only to burn up as her silver eyes flared within it. However, as it endured, the comet began to assimilate the power and make Ruby's black hair turn white, the best it could manage before it grew very tired. Outside the comet, it was glowing silver white before Ruby burst out of it from above, flying as her Crescent Rose was now glowing white where it should've been red with the black end of it burning away into a white light as well. Then, she opened her eyes before lunging toward Raven, who tried to counter her scythe, only for it to break upon contact while being thrust to a building before a white streak of petals chased after her and stopped in front of her, pointing her scythe at Raven.

"Now it's over."

Raven then began to shed tears, convinced she'd failed to avenge her daughter.

"Go ahead. Finish it. Then you can have what you've always wanted. I failed her. I failed the team. Worst of all... I betrayed Summer. I don't deserve to live for this."

Ruby seemed to comply with her wish before she raised her scythe to strike her down. However, she only smirked at Raven, catching her off guard before she spoke.

"Psyche!"

Then, she flung her scythe toward the comet and sliced through it, causing a streak of white light to go through it before it suddenly exploded in a white light, catching Salem off guard as well as those around her before the Grimm hybrids under the comet's control that were presently fighting Ren, Nora, and Qrow suddenly got struck by an invisible force and fell to the floor unconscious before friend and foe looked at the scene before looking to Ruby who smiled at them.

"I'm back."

Noticing this, Nora grew excited and leapt on Ren as she giggled and shook her feet. At the same time, Yang suddenly gasped for air before she coughed, catching Raider and Jaune's attention as she sat up and saw her with white hair bearing streaks of red left over before she noticed her and grew relieved.

"Yang!"

Then, Salem stood up, recovering from the force of the explosion, and glared at her.

"Traitor! After what you were gifted, how dare you betray me?!"

Ruby then turned to her friends before turning back to Salem and answering.

"I know what I did to you. I know what you did for me, and I appreciate that. But... I'd never betray my friends."

Salem growled at her before she took a deep breath before replying.

"No matter. At least I still have the Fall Maiden."

Then, as she mentioned it, Cinder knocked Pyrrha away from the dust and onto the floor before she reappeared and prepared her sword to strike as Pyrrha looked on in horror. Ruby, noticing this, tried to rush in to save her.

"Pyrrha!"

Then, she heard a noise above her. Something like... whistling.

"Huh? What's that?"

As the group looked around to search the source, Pyrrha looked up to see a knife headed toward Cinder before it hit her arm, knocking the sword away before it hit the ground. Pyrrha could recognize the symbol on the sword that looked like a power button as she widened her eyes.

"Penny?"

Sure enough, the entirety of those present in the war zone looked up to see Atlesian flagships moving in toward Kuroyuri with Penny leaning out of one of them before Ruby grew joyful to see her.

"Penny!"

Then, she also noticed Mount, Logan, and Weiss with her before the first two shouted to her while Weiss smiled at her.

"Hey, everybody! It's time to tango!"

"You're in big trouble now!"

Salem growled before turning to Gath.

"Dismantle them!"

Gath didn't hesitate to reach his arm out at a ship holding he four of them before Penny grunted as she used her knives as thrusters to knock Gath away with a kick before he let go of it and allowed it to land, though it was a rocky one as Weiss and the others had to hold on the whole time. Then, Raider stepped toward Salem before he spoke.

"Looks like today just isn't your day, Salem."

Then, Raider's eyes glowed silver before he shouted, blinding the enemies as they were forced to cover their eyes as he turned to his allies.

"We need to get moving while we can!"

Then, Abraham nodded as Raven, Qrow, Yang, Ruby, and Team JNPR headed to the flagships while he gave an order to his team and Raider opened the portal for them to go in.

"Scatter to the portal! Salem will have a hard time finding us! Move!"

With that, the army went inside the portal before Abraham turned to him.

"Thank you, my friend."

"No, Abraham. Thank you."

With that, Abraham took off into the portal before Raider jumped into the airship holding the rescued members before Jaune asked the pilot.

"How did you find us here?"

"We were sent by Ironwood to hunt down Gath. But then we found you all."

As they rode on the ships, they noticed a wide array of buildings on a mountain, most noticeable being one in between two peaks and a bridge to connect them. On another ship, Ren and Nora were watching while sitting at the edge before Ren took his hand onto hers and the two of them smiled at each other before she leaned on him. Weiss and Logan took notice of that before they looked to Mistral with a smile, knowing that they'll be able to do some good for both the company and Remnant.

* * *

Later, when they got to Mistral, Ruby walked through the halls seeing Weiss getting Team JNPR acquainted with Logan and Mount.

"This is Logan."

"Hey, man. It's good to see you."

"I could say the same, Jaune. Pyrrha told me a lot about you."

Then, Mount began horseplaying with Nora doing a game of tag as Ren went after them.

"Hey! Hold still, will you?!"

As she smiled, Ruby noticed Penny leaning on the wall smiling as Pyrrha laughed at Mount and Nora's playfulness before she finally walked into the room to see Yang sitting on the bed with Raven before she sat down on the bed adjacent to them, still feeling bad about what she'd said and did to them.

"Hey, sis. Aunt Raven? Can Yang and I have a moment?"

Raven nodded to her as she walked out.

"Of course."

Yang could tell that she was sad about those events and kept it in mind as she spoke to her.

"Look... I meant what I said back at Patch. I really am so—"

"No, Yang. I'm sorry, for leaving you the way I did. I know you told me it was a reckless idea, and after everything I've been through, I can definitely say you were right. It's been hard, on all of us. And I'm not just talking about the monsters we fought out here. Every step we made took us further and further away from the things we knew. And every morning we wake up wondering if just over the next hill would be something good... or something terrible. And every morning, I've... I've been taking that out on you."

"Ruby..."

"Let me finish, please. It's scary, not knowing what's going to happen next. And the things we do know now, just how bad it can get, it makes it all worse. Especially for me. You told me once that sometimes bad things just happen. You were angry when you said it, and I did t want to listen. But you were right. Bad things do happen, all the time, every day."

"Which is why you went anyway. Because you wanted to do as much as you can and do some good. But... I wasn't there for you when you needed me. We... we haven't heard from you since you left."

"You didn't? Ah, I knew handwritten things weren't so reliable."

Yang chuckled at this before she spoke on.

"But... you were right. I was still sulking about my stupid arm while you were dealing with the way the world is when you shouldn't have to."

Then, Yang began to tear up, remembering how cruel Ruby had been to her.

"It was... it was my fault you were with Salem! I treated you so wrong! And I'm so sorry..."

Ruby hugged her swiftly before she could sob.

"It's okay. I was angry when I said that to you, so I know what it was like for you. We've all lost something, and I've seen what loss can do to people, what it did to me. But if we gave up every time we lost, then we'd never be able to move forward. We'd never have a chance to see the beautiful things the future might have waiting for us. We'd never have the strength to change, whether it was ourselves or the world around us. And we'd never be there for other people, who might one day be lost without us."

Then, she sat down by Yang as she spoke onward.

"This is what we were training to do, Yang. What my mom, your mom and Dad, and Uncle Qrow have been training for. To become heroes. To be the ones to stand up and do something about all the bad in the world. Because there are plenty of people who are still lost, and even more who will try to gain everything they can from their sorrow."

* * *

As Ruby spoke to Yang, at Menagerie, Crimson had received the scroll detailing the White Fang's assignment from Adam Taurus before he turned to his army.

 _"Believe me when I say I know it can feel impossible, like ever single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster we can never hope to beat."_

As Crimson held the scroll to the air he shouted to his army.

"Today, our fruits of our labor will not be wasted! For the White Fang will be our allies to bring an end to the Branwen Tribe forever!"

The Grimmites shouted in praise as he smirked.

"So we have to try. If not for us, then for the people we've already..."

Then, she remembered when she saw Penny saving Pyrrha back at Kuroyuri and corrected herself.

"Then for the people we haven't lost yet."

Then, she began to tear up from the pain of separation that followed after the Fall of Beacon as she brought it up to her.

"I missed you so much. I miss Weiss and Blake too. But I think you'd be proud to know that we got along just fine before Salem. We even ran into Uncle Qrow along the way! And, he told us some things that you're gonna wanna hear, things that I can't trust that you'll know right away. I mean... you are going with your mom soon. To help change the Branwen Tribe for the better. And I know you need to focus on yourself before I can expect you to come out with me. But it sure would be great to have Team RWBY back together again."

"Yeah. I agree."

* * *

Outside the room, Raven watched as Ruby and Yang hugged each other before turning to Qrow.

"Qrow... I don't expect you to forgive me... but I really am sorry."

"No, you're not. Not yet. Crimson is out there planning who knows what. He'll do whatever it takes to get to you, so running sure as heck won't help."

Then, Raven looked back to Ruby and Yang as she spoke to him.

"I promise you... I'm done running away."

* * *

In Haven Academy, Doctor Watts was being prepared tea by Professor Lionheart before he spoke to him.

"Why thank you, professor. Salem always did tell me you were... quite hospitable."


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue:** "Origins"

At one of Mistral's hotels, Pyrrha was out at the yard with Raider as Ren, Logan, Mount, Jaune, Penny, and Nora watched. Ever since her last fight with Cinder, Pyrrha reminded Raider of his "offer" to train her in order to become the Fall Maiden. She lost twice to Cinder so far. Hopefully, she'll get the third time's charm rather than the third strike. To guarantee this, she thought it beneficial to get started on training immediately. More than that, he's been suggested to have spent quite some time with her before the Fall of Beacon. So if anyone knew Cinder, Raider apparently would.

"Now, the ability to maintain your aura during battle is difficult, but not impossible. It all depends on your stamina when facing your opponent. Cinder is capable of exploiting the lag between the time to recover your aura and the time you fight. That's how you lost your aura the first time and got vulnerable. The second time you lost was because you were so focused on recovering your aura. The key to this is being able to recover as you fight. Not only that. You must be discreet about it."

With that, Raider held out his sword in a battle stance in front of Pyrrha before she summoned her sword and shield.

"Begin!"

With that, Pyrrha and Raider charged at each other before the clash of swords began. As it went on, Ruby, Yang, and Weiss noticed the commotion before Ruby spoke to Jaune.

"What's she doing?"

"Training. While you were gone, Raider offered to train her to become the Fall Maiden."

"Oh."

When Pyrrha tried to attack with a jump and an overhead slash, though, Raider saw it coming as he gripped the sword with his Grimm claw before punching her in the chest with his other hand, breaking her aura instantly and tripping her before pointing her own sword at Pyrrha's face as she panted.

"You left yourself open to the unexpected, Pyrrha. You were too focused on recovery when you should've been fighting and fighting when you should've been recovering."

"Oh, really?"

Then, Raider helped Pyrrha up and gave her the sword back.

"We'll let your aura recover until tomorrow. Then you can try again."

"What? But I didn't even start to—"

Raider simply put his finger on her mouth before he spoke in a sort of nostalgic tone.

"Be patient, Pyrrha. I know I had to be."

As he walked away, Pyrrha asked him a question.

"Why? After the Fall of Beacon, you could've gone after Cinder at any time. I get that the silver eyes put a good dent on you, but after your arm recovered, why didn't you go after her?"

Raider, who had stopped in his tracks when she'd started asking him, replied back easily.

"Because if I did, you wouldn't get those powers back, and they would've gone to someone else she trusted. For all I know, they could've gone to Salem. I couldn't risk that. Any other questions?"

"Just a few. How do you know so much about Cinder? How did you become a Grimm hybrid? And... why are you going through all this trouble just for us?"

Then, he looked back to the rest of Team JNPR along with Logan, Penny, Ruby, Yang, and Weiss before he took a deep breath.

"Well... it's a long story. But, to answer all your questions, it all started the way my normal life ended."

* * *

 _At a small house, a young man with black hair ran in and shouted for his parents._

" _Mom! Dad! I'm home!"_

 _As an answer, his mother spoke up from upstairs._

" _Come upstairs, honey! Your father and I've got something for you!"_

 _With that, Raider excitedly ran up the stairs before he went into his room and found his parents holding a box for him. Samuel, the father, spoke to him._

" _Here's your present son. Happy Birthday."_

 _The young Raider opened up the box to find a black sword with a streak of red coloring in it, to his surprise._

" _No way... a sword?!"_

 _Cynthia replied back with a smile._

" _Yep. Your Father and I found it a good fit seeing as you're gonna be a Huntsman."_

" _I worked hard on it all day and night for you, kiddo. I was quite a blacksmith back then."_

 _As Raider took the sword, Samuel spoke further._

" _Might want to be careful where you point it, though."_

" _Sure thing, Dad. Thank you. It really means a lot."_

 _Just then, they heard a knocking on the door before Raider looked to his mother._

" _Who's that?"_

" _I don't know. Who could be coming at this hour?"_

 _As she went downstairs to check, Raider spoke as the narrator._

"I had just turned 15 years old. My father was making me a special sword called 'Armageddon' prior to that and gave it to me as his last gift. Then, there was this knocking on the door, so my mom went to check it out. But... when she opened it..."

 _As she opened the door, she noticed a White Fang member with a custom made mask over his face before he pointed a gun at her and spoke._

" _We're done being your slaves, human."_

 _Then, she gasped before she engaged a semblance that nullifies pain and went toward the member at point blank range before a muffled shot rang out. However, it seemed to have canceled out her semblance as she groaned before chopping him on the neck, causing him to pass out. Then, she felt a wound on her belly before she fell to the floor with Samuel and Raider coming down to see Cynthia on the floor, a black hole where the wound was made. Samuel knew all too well where the bullet came from: it was a dark dust bullet. Its special abilities made it quite lethal as it cancels out any semblance in use. And that seems to be what brought Cynthia to death's door._

" _Cynthia! No!"_

" _Mom?"_

 _Cynthia began breathing raggedly as she clutched onto his arm._

" _Samuel... please... take our son and go as far away as you can..."_

" _We're not leaving without you!"_

" _You have to...!"_

" _Mom, what's happening?!"_

 _To further prove the seriousness of the situation, more White Fang members arrived and circled the house before Samuel grew adamant in his decision._

" _I'm not leaving without you, Cynthia!"_

" _But what about our son?! He'll die if he stays here!"_

 _Raider didn't quite understand the situation, but all he knew was that those White Fang members were threatening his parents, his family. So he wasn't going to stand by. He then took Armageddon out and walked out of the door._

" _Stay away from my family!"_

 _The White Fang members pointed their weapons at Raider, who prepared to strike, only for Samuel to chip him on the neck, causing him to fall to the floor._

* * *

"There was an attack on me and my family by the White Fang. It didn't make any sense to me because they usually had peaceful protests. But here they were. When I woke up, I was away from my home. I only saw it burned to the ground. I tried looking for my parents, but... there was no sign of them."

Ruby thought it was good news.

"So, they're still out there, right? You could still find them."

"I believed that, too. But... in the fire... I saw a Faunus with a sword. He raised it... and struck down my family where they stood. They were helpless. No... I was helpless."

Weiss, being a victim of the White Fang herself, in a way, felt sorry for him.

"We're really sorry that happened to you, Raider."

"I appreciate your concern, but... my struggle was far from over. After what happened to me, I wanted revenge."

 _A few months after the destruction of his home, Raider was seen in a similar armor as any regular huntsman before seeing Cinder practicing her powers out in the courtyard of Haven Academy as two students watched her._

"So, I decided I needed to do something that would hit them where it hurts. That's when I met her."

Ruby had a feeling he knew who he was talking about.

"Cinder, right?"

"Yeah. The strange thing is, though, she seemed a lot like you, Ruby. She was positive, upbeat, and always willing to stand up for others. But... at first, I wasn't interested in anything. Or anyone for that matter."

 _As he continued onward, Raider can be seen entering the restroom before looking at himself in the mirror to see that he was becoming half Grimm, as made evident by the skin turning black and a red eye where the blackness was spreading before he angrily punched the mirror into pieces._

* * *

"I pushed myself as far as I dared to go in my studies. And as I continued my training... my scars got worse. During that time, I had to close myself off from Haven altogether. It was really difficult back then."

Nora laughed a lot at this, imaging how he must've looked.

"You must've been half a mummy in high school!"

Raider didn't find it funny before he spoke further about his story, getting Pyrrha's attention as she didn't quite seem the sort of type.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't interrupt, please? Anyway, Cinder caught wind of that eventually. But... she didn't reject me. In fact... she embraced me. Even told me the truth about where she really came from."

"Really? She just told you?"

"Well, yeah. She could relate to what I went through. Cinder was on her own after her parents died and was raised by a... well, let's just say a very mean woman."

In that moment, Ruby, remembering how angry she had been to Yang after what's happened to her, finally understood why Cinder did what she did, much to Jaune's confusion, given how cruel she is.

"I get it now."

"Uh, get what, Ruby?"

"I thought I saw something in Cinder when we sparred once. Cinder must've caused all that pain at Beacon because... she must've been dealing with the fact that she didn't have any parents. At least, any parent that loved her. I know exactly how that feels."

"Yeah. We've all been through a fair share of tragedies. Once I accepted her invitation, I became part of CROM (chrome). And a lot of our missions involved planning hits on the corrupt members of the White Fang. We went on with it for so long, it came along naturally for us. But then one day, I found a face I saw before. The same one that took my family away. His name was Caleb Taurus. He was an extremist as far as the original leader was concerned. But he didn't care. He didn't even care about the lives he'd taken. So, when it came down to me and him, I couldn't just let him walk away. The two of us fought to the death until I took his sword. Looking into his life with the gazing semblance, which my mother primarily used, I adapted to his own and as a result, I was only able to scar his eyes. When he stepped back out off that ledge, he was going to fall. I couldn't care less. But then, I thought about what my father would've done in spite of everything that happened to him. When he fell, I took him by the collar and tried to get answers. When I asked who he was really working for, he whispered the name that still gives me chills. I think you all know her."

Pyrrha immediately knew the answer, given their roles in the Fall of Beacon and the Battle of Kuroyuri.

"Salem."

"That's right. After that, Caleb pushed me away and fell to his death. He died as a martyr of his own White Fang. All that was left of him was the mask that I broke from scarring him. And that same mask is what I wear even now, as a reminder of how far Salem will go to get her way."

Ruby was still stuck on his relationship.

"But what about Cinder?"

"Well, back then, we were best friends. So, when I found out the truth, that's when she began to show her true colors. She never cared about the wellbeing of anyone but herself, not even her own team. She had them killed off, as far as I know. So, we had a fight, and I won. O should've killed her then and there, but I didn't. Instead, I made a promise to her. I told her that if I ever saw her anywhere near any Huntsman Academy, she would go six feet under. Since then, I was wandering by myself for 10 years."

Ruby felt it was sad that Raider went through all of this agony alone with no one to comfort him.

"10 years of being alone? That's... sad."

"Maybe. But after what Cinder did, how could I trust anyone?"

"How did you cope with it?"

"I never did. I thought that it was because there was an itch that needed scratching. Then, it occurred to me that I never got the chance to finish my training at Vale. So, I decided to head back there to officially graduate. But that's when I noticed the attack on Beacon tower. After I stopped Cinder from attacking Pyrrha and took her eye and arm, I just walked to wherever the road took me next. I was angry for not living up to my promise, but there were two reasons why I didn't. One, the silver eyes scare the Grimm to death, and for good reason. It almost burned my arm off the first time I used it. As for the second, I've already told you before."

Pyrrha then brings up her last question.

"Which brings us to our last question. Why are you going through all of this trouble for us?"

"It was nothing personal. I was just cleaning up Cinder's mess. You can see how that went. After that, I went on my own again. But then, Mount disobeyed my orders to stay hidden..."

"Sorry."

"...leading up to now."

Pyrrha then stood up as she walked toward him.

"So, this whole time, you were just cleaning up after Cinder?"

"It started out that way. But then I saw how close you guys are. I didn't need the gazing semblance to know that each one of you would do everything you could for each other."

Ruby got the sense into what he's implying as she seemed to have finished it for him.

"I guess, in a way, we're like family."

"Yeah. And if we're family, I guess that makes me some sort of... uncle?"

"Not like Uncle Qrow, that's for sure."

That earned a smile from Raider before he spoke to Pyrrha in all seriousness.

"Remnant is counting on the Huntsman and Huntresses to win this war, and you guys are all counting on me. So I'll do whatever it takes to help you get back to your homes safely. Whatever it takes."

There was a moment of silence before Ruby became curious about Raider's eyes.

"Wait... you said you had silver eyes. But your eyes look anything but silver. How could they—?"

In that moment, Raider's red and blue eyes shifted to a silver color, taking Ruby by surprise before he replied.

"My eyes have heterochromia. They change color depending on how I feel. With my Grimm side, it's... kinda rare for it to happen."

"Oh. Uh, that's... cool, I guess."

"I'll be in the hotel if you need me. I need some sleep."

Then, he got up and walked away into the hotel as Pyrrha looked on.

* * *

Later at night, Ruby was tossing and turning in her bed as she was hearing a dark voice inside her head. In her nightmare, a dark shadow with red eyes spoke to her.

" _Rose..."_

Ruby grunted at the voice before it spoke to her again.

" _Rose..."_

Fearing for her life, Ruby spoke as she slept.

"W-Who's there?!"

" _Shadows are everywhere. And where they are, so am I."_

"The God of Darkness? Uncle Qrow told me about you. I'm not afraid."

" _Even my shadows cannot hide your fear. Or the truth."_

"What truth?"

" _That you will not save Haven Academy. And deep down, you know it."_

"So, maybe I won't. Maybe Aunt Raven and Yang will."

" _And if they don't? They will_ die _because of you..."_

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

When Ruby woke up, she looked around the room and saw no shadows in the room before she took a deep breath and hung her head down.

At Menagerie, Adam was on a rooftop before he heard a whoosh behind him. He knew the name all too well before he turned to him and spoke.

"Crimson."

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"What do you want?"

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot our little history? I was there when I saw you kill that trash before I killed two more. Then, we had a spar. At the end of it, I told you I would need a favor. That sound familiar to you?"

"It does, now that you mention it. What's the favor?"

Crimson handed Adam the scroll that was given to him by his operatives before he spoke.

"I know you're planning to overthrow the White Fang. And I want in."

"And what could you possibly gain from it?"

"Something that'll benefit the both of us: revenge. We were both betrayed by the people we called our friends. For my case, it was Raven Branwen. She and my sister were a part of Team STRQ. Long story short, she was assuming the responsibility of the Spring Maiden. However, it became too much for my sister, so she ran away. Then, Raven found her and tried to train her. But when it wasn't enough... she killed her and took the power for herself. A lowly coward taking a power that was never meant to be hers!"

Noticing his anger, Crimson took a deep breath before he spoke again as he got out a coin with the Grimm representing the Grimmites and the person representing the White Fang.

"And you? Blake abandoned you when things got too extreme between the two of you, didn't she? The way I see it, the White Fang, the Grimmites, we're two sides of the same coin. So that means whatever side the coin lands on..."

He then flips the coin and placed it in his palm to show the person facing up.

"...they will all lose. Do we have a deal?"


End file.
